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Santo Domingo.-  The Dominican Housing Builders and Promoters Association (Acoprovi) asked the Government to authorize international tenders to import one million bags of cement and that same number of quintals of rebar, to confront the rise in the prices of materials in last three months, which they say is from speculation and as much as 66 percent.

Acoprovi president Jaime González said the companies which market those materials have raised prices to levels which don’t guarantee the industry’s stability, affecting employees and the country’s economy.He said rebar and cement are 65 percent of the cost of constructions.

He noted that in November a quintal of rebar cost RD$1,500, compared with RD$2,400 now, whereas cement was US$5 and is now US$7.2 per bag.

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Written by: cibaeño75, 28 Mar 2008 11:33 AM
From: United States, New York City
"Dominican builders want imported steel and cement to lower costs"

Here, Here! A family freind had a two story cinder block home replete with swimming pool built in mexico. The cost of materials to him? $25, 000 US dollars. Try to build the same home in DR with that same amount of money and you'll probably get the walls of said home to rise a few feet at best!. The cement monopoly in DR has been fleecing the people for some time now. I'm glad to see that at the very least the issue is being discussed.
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Written by: dreadlocks, 30 Mar 2008 12:36 PM
From: United States
well, cibaeno, i tried to outline the concomitant effects of a two tier economy, but was roundly criticised for being xenophobic. well, the prices have gone through the roof, not only because of the cost of forward logistics, but because the vendors know that they can extort high prices due to the excessive real estate development by foreign players. it is no different than a moto concho ride. locals pay one fare, gringo pays another. only, in this case, the division is not that simple to accomplish. so the price escalates to the higher demand level. the locals are now competing in the high priced market.
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Written by: Staveras, 3 Apr 2008 7:00 PM
From: United States
Dred, tell me about it. I am currently building in Playa Rincon, Samana, Las Galeras and these rises in prices are killing my budget. One of the other problems is the "Capitalist" nation of China which bought more than half of all the cement in the world last year.
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