The standard market price for next year will rise by an average of 2.2%. The standard specifications will be improved to reflect on-site conditions.

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport revealed on the 26th that it will announce the standard market price and standard specifications for next year, which are the basis for estimating direct construction costs, starting from the 27th. The standard market price is a criterion based on the market transaction prices of actual construction projects and is utilized for projects worth more than 10 billion won. The standard specifications are quantified data on the manpower and equipment required per unit of common and general construction work.

View of a new apartment construction site in Seoul. / Yonhap News

The ministry reflected changes in construction practices based on field surveys for 414 out of the 1,832 items in the standard market price (▲civil engineering 236, ▲construction 101, ▲mechanical equipment 77).

A total of 1,418 items were revised to reflect fluctuations in prices. Accordingly, the standard market price for next year will rise by an average of 2.2% compared to May of this year. Among the components of the standard market price, material and expense costs are based on the construction cost index, while labor costs apply the market labor wage standard. The number of major management construction types increased from 315 to 500, a measure to reflect the construction site prices in a timely manner.

Next year's standard specifications were revised for 357 out of 1,438 items (▲common 222, ▲civil engineering 54, ▲construction 26, ▲mechanical equipment 33, ▲maintenance 22) to reflect changes in equipment and personnel.

To support the application of smart technologies at construction sites, new installation and dismantling standards were established for 3D machine control (MC) dozers and collision prevention devices for equipment blind spots.

In addition, it was decided to refine the correction standards so that construction costs can be increased according to the scale of the project and site conditions. For instance, if the structure changes by floor when constructing aluminum formwork, the complexities in processing and assembling rebar for small structures will be reflected in the standard market price with 12 new or supplemented cases and 10 for standard specifications.

A 'demand-responsive standard specifications council' involving the government, local governments, and the industry is also planned to be operational. Through this, demands for specification improvements due to changes in the site, such as the introduction of new technologies and construction methods, will be identified and incorporated.

Kim Tae-byeong, the head of technical safety policy, noted, 'We will create construction cost estimation standards that can appropriately reflect various site conditions in construction costs.'

Meanwhile, the standard market price and standard specifications for next year can be viewed on the ministry's website or the construction cost management center website of the Korea Construction Technology Institute.