INTERVIEW: Kajima Chief Seeks to Address Higher Costs with Clients

Tokyo, July 1 (Jiji Press)--Construction firms and real estate developers need to work together to address surging labor and materials costs involving large-scale urban redevelopment projects in Japan, Masafumi Kiryu, president of Kajima Corp., a major Japanese construction firm, said in an interview.

"There are gaps between clients' budgets and actual construction costs" behind frequent suspensions and delays in such projects, he said. Clients and contractors "should work together" to bridge those gaps, though they have "different interests," he said.

Kiryu called on clients and construction firms to work together to find solutions through proactive proposals from contractors, such as changes in designs, to reduce costs while maintaining quality.

"Passing on increased costs to clients is important, but we have to make efforts," he said.

Kajima has not suspended any construction projects due to disruptions in construction materials supply chains owing to the conflict in the Middle East, Kiryu said.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]