Kolkata: Kolkata’s real estate market is staring at fresh time and cost escalations as the war in West Asia disrupts supplies of construction materials, delays project execution and pushes up apartment prices. A letter from CREDAI West Bengal to chief secretary Manoj Kumar Agarwal, seeking extension of project timelines because of material shortages, has highlighted the twin risks for homebuyers: delayed possession and higher prices.Developers said the war in the Gulf has triggered shortages of cement, steel, aluminium, copper, polymers and other energy-intensive construction materials. Production in key manufacturing clusters either stopped or is running at limited capacity, while rising fuel, logistics and raw material costs are inflating project budgets and slowing schedules. The pressure comes at a time when nearly 100 major and 300 mid- and low-size private housing projects are under construction in Kolkata.“The steep hike in essential fuels has also affected site-level fabrication, cutting, welding operations and is also pushing migrant workers out of the major urban centres, affecting both labour cost and availability,” said CREDAI West Bengal president Sushil Mohta. The cost pressure has been sharp since Dec 2025. Prices of reinforced concrete have risen 20%, cement 8%, sand 17%, stone chips 8%, vitrified tiles 13%, wooden door frame 37%, wooden door shutter 15%, aluminium formwork 51% and copper RMT by 74%. “Crude oil prices feed directly into the cost of cement, steel, aluminium, PVC pipes, adhesives and logistics, virtually every input that goes into building a complex,” said realty consultant Samantak Das.Developers estimate the cumulative impact could push Kolkata property prices up by around 10%, with some pockets seeing increases of 10-12%. Citing the Union finance ministry’s office memorandum dated April 29, 2026, which said “the prevailing West Asia situation should be treated as a ‘war’ triggering force majeure” and contractual obligations on or after Feb 28, 2026, may be extended by two to four months without additional cost or penalty, CREDAI West Bengal has urged the state to extend similar relief to the real estate sector. The developers’ body has asked the state to advise WBRERA to grant a blanket extension of three to six months. Premium housing may remain relatively resilient, but the mid-segment market is expected to feel the strain more sharply.
