Construction Sector Inflation Eases Slightly – What It Means for Projects and Prices

The latest data from the Ghana Statistical Service GSS shows that prices within Ghana’s construction sector rose by 6.0% in June 2025 compared to 7.4% the same month last year. Simply put, if you paid GH₵ 100 for certain construction services or materials in June 2024, you would pay about GH₵ 106 for them in June 2025.

However, the pace of price increases has slowed down slightly. In May 2025, construction inflation was 7.4%, but it eased to 6.0% in June, showing that while prices are still rising compared to last year, they are not increasing as sharply as before.

On a month-to-month basis, meaning compared to May 2025, prices in the sector actually dropped slightly by 0.4%. This suggests that construction costs saw a small dip in June, which could offer some short-term relief to contractors, developers, and individuals building homes.

“All sub-groups in the construction sub-sector experienced upward trends over the year, though with moderate fluctuations. The construction of buildings rose steadily from 295.9 in June 2024 to a mid-2025 peak, before declining sharply to 276.2 in June 2025” GSS stated in the June Producer Price Inflation-PPI report.

Breaking Down the Sub-Sectors

The construction sector itself is made up of three main areas:

Construction of Buildings:

This sub-sector saw a -6.7% inflation rate, meaning prices fell compared to last year. Month-to-month, prices dropped by 1.7%, indicating that building construction costs are easing a positive sign for housing developers and private builders.

Civil Engineering:

Prices here rose by 11.5% compared to last year, showing strong growth in costs for projects such as roads, bridges, and utility infrastructure. Month-on-month, prices were largely stable with a small 0.1% increase. Within civil engineering, construction of utility projects recorded the highest inflation rate at 30.2%, reflecting significant cost pressures in water, electricity, and telecommunication installations.

Specialised Construction Activities:

This area, which includes plumbing, electrical installations, and finishing works, recorded the highest inflation within construction at 17.5% year-on-year, with a slight 0.2% increase month-on-month. For example, electrical and plumbing installation costs rose by 17.4%, while building completion and finishing inflation eased slightly to 8.8%.

For the ordinary Ghanaian, these numbers mean overall construction costs are still rising compared to last year but at a slower pace than earlier in 2025, building your house or office could be slightly cheaper now compared to May due to the month-on-month dip, especially in the construction of buildings sub-sector, civil engineering projects like roads, water, and utility installations remain costly, which could affect government infrastructure budgets and timelines. Lastly, finishing and specialised works are getting pricier, which affects the final stages of any construction project.

The slight dip in construction prices overall offers a breather, but continued high inflation in areas like civil engineering and specialised works means building remains an expensive endeavour in Ghana.

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