New factory construction will begin incorporating more flood-prevention measures with an emphasis on two-story buildings, pushing up construction costs by at least 20%.
Chaiyarat Thampeera, the chief executive of the SET-listed construction firm Pre-Built Plc (PREB), said two-stores factories naturally cost more to build than their single-story counterparts of similar area.
Pilings and the second-story floor must be stronger to support heavy machinery.
''Factory owners will consider placing machinery on the upper floor to stay above any flooding, as barriers outside are not always fully effective,'' he said.
Renovating an inundated factory will take three to six months. Mr Chaiyarat said five owners had already met with the company about doing the work, but nothing has been finalized.
The owners are still considering how much flood protection to go with or even whether to add an upper floor.
Mr Chaiyarat said existing customers have priority for renovation jobs.
The seven inundated industrial estates contain some factories constructed by Pre-Built including Ichitan.
Mr Chaiyarat said construction costs will increase by at least 10% after the flood crisis due to higher demand for construction materials and labour.
''People with flooded houses and who have rented an apartment or condo will probably wait longer to renovate due to the shortage of construction materials and labour. They could be waiting as long as six months,'' said Mr Chaiyarat.
He predicts the housing trend will shift more towards condominiums close to mass transit due to the convenience of transport and parking spaces. Demand for low-rise housing will drop.
However, Pre-Built's new low-rise townhouse project remains on schedule, as the location in Ban Sai Ma in Nonthaburi province will be close to the coming Purple Line route.
The company will raise the project land by 70 centimeters instead of the previously planned 50 cm to boost buyer confidence about flood prevention.
Pre-Built believes it will close out unit sales during its January launch.
Severely flood-hit areas like 345 Road and Bang Bua Thong district in Nonthaburi will be less attractive. Developers there may shift to condominiums.
Homebuyers look for good after-sales service and customer relationship management,'' said Mr Chaiyarat.
''Major developers will introduce customer-care plans after the floods.''
The impact of the flooding on the company includes a delay in starting construction of a condominium project on Ratchadaphisek Road, as the piling contractor faced flood problems.
Even though gross domestic product looks set to fall short of this year's target, Pre-Built is maintaining its revenue forecast of 3 billion baht and net profit exceeding 100 million.
The company posted a third-quarter net profit of 21 million baht, up by 15% year-on-year, on revenue of 993 million.
Its nine-month net profit was 88.23 million baht, up by 112.5% from 41.52 million, on revenue of 2.49 billion, compared with 1.38 billion in the same period last year.
PREB shares closed unchanged yesterday on the SET at 2.98 baht in trade worth 1 million baht.
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