Building cost inflation rises to 5.1% in September

Building cost inflation in Ghana rose to 5.1% in September 2026, up from 4.6% in August, driven by increases in the cost of construction materials and equipment.

The latest Prime Building Cost Index (PBCI) bulletin published by the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) shows that annual inflation in the building sector increased by 0.5 percentage points during the period.

The Service said the index measures changes in the overall cost of building construction, tracking key inputs such as materials, labour and equipment.

“The year-on-year inflation rate measured by the PBCI was 5.1% in September 2026 up from 4.6% in August 2026,” the GSS stated in the bulletin.

Despite the increase in annual inflation, the monthly change in building costs remained marginal at 0.03% in September.

At the group level, plant costs recorded the highest inflation, rising to 19.1% in September from 17.9% in August.

Inflation in construction materials also increased to 6.5% from 5.8% over the same period.
Labour costs, however, recorded a year-on-year inflation rate of negative 3.2%, compared with negative 2.9% in August.

The GSS said the differences in cost movements were also evident across individual construction sub-groups, with reinforcement recording the highest inflation rate.

“At the sub-group level, Reinforcement recorded the highest year-on-year inflation rate of 29.0% while the sub-group Steel recorded the lowest year-on-year inflation rate of -8.8%,” the Service reported.
It added that 14 of the 23 construction sub-groups recorded inflation above the national average of 5.1% in September.

The PBCI provides a measure of changes in building construction costs and serves as a reference for developers, contractors, investors and policymakers in preparing budgets, negotiating contracts and monitoring inflation in the construction sector.

The September figures point to continued annual cost pressures in the building industry, particularly in plant and reinforcement, despite the marginal monthly increase in the overall index.