The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

TRIBUNE Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

BAHAMIANS were yesterday warned to brace for higher construction costs with concrete prices set to jump by 11 percent, or around $30 per cubic yard, due to the loss of local aggregate supply with Bahama Rock’s ongoing closure.

Robert Myers, a former Bahamian Contractors Association (BCA) president, told Tribune Business that re-opening the Grand Bahama-based plant or securing another local aggregate/rock source is vital if the construction and development industry is “to have a sustainable supply long-term” to avoid shortages and keep costs competitive.

He spoke out after Bahamas Redi-Mix, one of the nation’s major cement and concrete suppliers, warned that having to replace Bahama Rock with aggregate sourced from the Dominican Republic “at almost double the cost” leaves it with “no choice” but to raise prices for customers.

Phil Andrews, its managing director, in a message seen by this newspaper, wrote: “Unfortunately, the aggregates from the Dominican Republic are almost double the cost of those from Freeport and we have no choice but to pass the cost along.

“We are hopeful that Freeport will resume operations shortly and we can get back to current pricing. The new price for the attached mix design will be $305 per cubic yard plus VAT.”

Bahama Rock has suspended operations with effect from September 16, and temporarily laid-off 69 hourly-paid workers for up to 60 days, amid the ongoing wait for the necessary regulatory approvals and permits for it to access and mine a new aggregate source on the 515-acre former Bahamas Cement Company property that it acquired last year.

There has been no indication of whether a go-ahead will be received, or when, with many residents in Eight Mile Rock and communities surrounding the old Bahamas Cement Company site vehemently opposed to Bahama Rock’s plans because of the alleged damage its previous blasting has caused to their properties along with environmental impact concerns.

In the meantime, though, the anticipated negative impact from Bahama Rock’s closure to the construction and development industries Bahamas-wide is already being felt. Mr Myers said that, compared to US prices, Bahamian concrete costs per cubic yard are now - at $305 - around $95-$125, or between 31 percent to 41 percent, higher following the latest hike.

Bahama Rock, in a presentation made during the July 29 town hall meeting on its project, disclosed that The Bahamas requires more than 350,000 tons of aggregate per year.

It warned that the loss of its supply source would double the cost of such materials for the Bahamian construction industry and result in delivery costs per ton being “up to 150 percent higher” due to extra import-related expenses - a reality that is now starting to play out following the temporary closure implemented six to seven weeks ago.

“I would say it depends on your design mix, but it’s probably about an 11 percent increase,” Mr Myers told Tribune Business of the price unveiled by Bahamas Redi-Mix.

This, he added, translated into around a $30 increase per cubic yard, and compared the $305 cost to the $180-$210 per yard delivery cost cited in the US ‘national guide’ for 2026. “The cost of concrete in The Bahamas is 30 percent higher than the average cost in the US,” he said.

Mr Myers, also a former Bahamas Chamber of Construction and Employers Confederation (BCCEC) chairman, said the ultimate impact will be higher construction costs - for homeowners building new homes or undertaking major renovation projects involving concrete, plus developers and even the Government with infrastructure projects such as roads, bridges, docks and airport aprons.

“I don’t know what percentage concrete costs are of the total, but on an average home you are probably talking about a $5,000 to $10,000 increase depending on the type of home and it size,” he explained. “Based on an average home you are probably talking about a $5,000-$10,000 increase.

“No matter how you make concrete - batch on-site by hand or ready mix - you are going to have an increased cost of aggregate. We have not had any concrete on-island for the last two weeks; no reliable supply of concrete on-island for the last two weeks. There’s no aggregate. The country has run out of aggregate.

“Now they are telling us it’s going to be 11 percent more per yard. We talked about this a while ago and now it’s manifesting itself. We are going to be subject far more to supply chain reliability because it’s [aggregate] coming from elsewhere… This is a significant problem on top of everything else that has

Mr Myers said hurricanes, and the rough seas and stormy weather typically encountered in winter months, threaten to disrupt concrete supplies if key materials have to be sourced from elsewhere. “We need to find other sources of aggregate in the country if we can,” he added.

“Bahama Rock were shipping aggregate rock to other places in the world and now we are out of rock and have to pay more for concrete. That doesn’t make any damn sense. We gave all our rock away and have to get it from another country.”

The former BCA chief said the Government must take situations such as this into account for its national planning, and ensure The Bahamas has its “own sustainable supply” of aggregate to last for up to 25-30 years “if we are going to continue to develop and do so at competitive prices”.

Mr Myers said road building costs will also likely increase given that aggregate is a key component, and added that the Government’s own asphalt plant has already increased prices “significantly” for 2026. Among the projects set to be impacted are the Glass Window Bridge in Eleuthera.

“On the upside, there’s a considerable amount of construction and projects in the pipeline for the next 18-24 months, and there’s going to be an impact on the cost of those projects without a doubt,” the former Chamber chair said.

Leonard Sands, the current BCA president, echoed and backed Mr Myers, telling Tribune Business that the imminent increase in concrete prices “is not reversible unless we find more local aggregate, which does not seem likely”.

“All this could have been avoided if we had found a solution to the Freeport rock problem,” he added. “To me, I believe there is still an opportunity to address it because there are not a lot of things that can be solved by bringing in aggregate from the Dominican Republic.

“If we have a hurricane, you cannot run a boat in a storm, and we will have a shortage of supply. It’s not solved by sourcing. It’s solved by going back to a local supplier. It will not reduce demand with a price hike, and we are all going to feel the pinch.

“I’m expecting price increases across the board for concrete come January 1. We’re not going to go into 2027 with 2026 prices. They’ll [suppliers] have absorbed as much as they can.”

Mr Sands agreed that homeowners will have to pay more for constructing new housing or renovation projects involving concrete. “I’m not raising the alarm bell,” he said, “but there are increased costs to be expected.

“Infrastructure projects, the new hospital under construction in 2027, you can put down that all those projects will have an increase in cost, so those budgets will have to be looked at again when they price it. It’s not going to blow it, but it’s certainly going to impact what the fixed numbers were.”

Mr Sands said the only solution is for there to be a compromise, and Bahama Rock re-open and start producing aggregate again. “The Government, the Grand Bahama Port Authority and the stakeholders need to come together to get the plant open and re-engage employees,” he added.

“The plan has made a request for expansion, and that needs to be seriously considered because we’re at the stage where we need to expand not contract. We need more, not less. More product to build, not less. The wider repercussions and impact are starting to be felt beyond New Providence and Grand Bahama.”