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. He said that the firm will further diversify procurement sources as the risks of relying heavily on the Middle East for procurement have become apparent. Such changes “may help address higher construction costs,” he said. The company plans to boost the use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence, in order to address labor shortages. Kiryu also said that Kajima is “considering ways to raise wages, even if only modestly,” to secure workers. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]