Steel prices surge, Vietnam Association of Construction Contractors calls for help

Price of steel increased by 30-40% in the first quarter of 2021. Source: Internet

In the petition, the association said that the construction contractors around the country are facing the risk of bankruptcy due to the skyrocketing steel prices in the first quarter of 2021, especially in April.

Specifically, the price of steel of 6 diameter of Viet My in the fourth quarter of 2020 was VND13,145/kg, currently, this steel in Da Nang is sold at VND18,370/kg, increasing by 40%.

Meanwhile, the steel price announced by the Da Nang Construction Department with the contractor applying for settlement is only VND13,805/kg.

The association said that not only Viet My steel but all steel brands have simultaneously increased their prices from 30% to 40% compared to the last quarter of last year.

The association said that all construction contractors have faced difficulties, there was no way to remove them because the majority of investors who were not state-owned are using fixed unit price contracts without adjustments at the time of signing (except in case of force majeure), therefore, the contractors must solve this deficit by themselves.

As for budget capital investment projects, they must apply the unit price of materials as notified by the Construction Department. Meanwhile, those notices did not update the fluctuation of prices in time, so the contractors must also handle this fluctuation.

Facing this situation, the Association proposed the Government Office to direct concerned ministries and sectors to thoroughly check the causes, and the Construction Departments should update the market unit prices.

At the same time, with public investment projects and budget capital investment projects, the association suggested the Government Office request the Department of Construction to update the market unit price to have a basis for the contractors to apply it.

According to the association, in January 2021, the Government Office issued a document to remind ministries and sectors to deal with this issue, however, until now there has been no response while the situation has become more complicated. Therefore, this association urgently suggested the Government Office to take measures to solve this problem to help contractors avoid unnecessary losses.

Meanwhile, the report on the situation of the Vietnamese steel market in March 2021 and the first quarter of 2021 issued by the Vietnam Steel Association showed that the production and consumption of steel products in the first quarter of 2021 increased significantly compared.

The report also said that, according to previous forecasts, steel prices would only increase at a maximum level till the end of second quarter of 2021. But for now, things were changing, many forecasts were adjusting in time, so that steel prices could rise through the third quarter of 2021 when looking at the situation in China, the US, India, the EU and many other major markets.