Puebla, Pue. The Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC) recommended to entrepreneurs from the Puebla sector that they make advance purchases of materials if they participate in public works projects, since inflation is bringing significant increases in prices.
Héctor Sánchez Morales, president of the organization, said that this recommendation has been given to the builders, because from the beginning of this year to the end of May they have had this problem to work on.
He urged the authorities that have projects in process to agree to make adjustments in the final costs of the works to support the builders, because it is not their problem that increases occur during the works.
He indicated that otherwise it is not positive to participate in a public work, whose profit margin is reduced by the fluctuations of costs in materials such as rod and cement.
Moreover, he said, a reform must be made to the Public Works Law that allows making important adjustments in percentages when cost overruns arise, since it is currently considered 30 percent.
Sánchez Morales maintained that the prices of materials have risen between 10 and 15% due to inflation, which does bring harm, “because the builder plans to spend so much and it ends up being more, but when doing the math, they also run the risk of delay payment.”
The leader said that his 300 members are concerned about the lack of projects, which is leading local builders to concentrate their efforts on private projects such as housing, industrial buildings and commercial complexes.
He commented that even when they are small works, it implies having material in stock to meet delivery times and not be late, especially in the rainy season.
“When we think that in this 2022 things will be better, this is not happening and it is difficult to work in these conditions in the public sector, since there have been cases in which they have collection problems,” he deepened.
The Pueblan leader of the CMIC indicated that businessmen in the sector must take more precautions so as not to lose profits, which is risky when you want to get out of the economic crisis soon.