London and Zurich followed Geneva in Arcadis' index of 100 cities, while the consultancy said project deliverability and supply-chain capacity are increasingly shaping investment decisions.
Geneva remained the world's most expensive city in which to build in Arcadis' 2026 International Construction Cost Index, ahead of London and Zurich. The annual ranking compares construction costs across 100 major cities and showed that the highest-cost markets are still concentrated in mature, complex cities where demand is deep and delivery capacity is constrained. Munich and Copenhagen rounded out the top five, while New York City, San Francisco, Dublin, Bristol and Philadelphia completed the top ten. Arcadis said global construction markets are shifting away from inflation-led uncertainty toward a more selective investment environment, with capital being deployed more carefully rather than demand simply weakening. It said buildings clients are increasingly directing spending toward complex, high-performing assets such as modern workplaces, healthcare facilities, laboratories, data centres, advanced manufacturing facilities and other highly serviced buildings that support digital and energy transition. At the same time, higher financing costs, energy volatility, tariff uncertainty and supply-chain constraints are adding pressure to project viability and raising the importance of early cost intelligence, scenario planning, procurement strategy and disciplined programme delivery. The consultancy said lower construction costs do not necessarily mean projects are easier to deliver. It pointed to factors such as market readiness, grid capacity, permitting, supply-chain depth, skills availability and access to specialist contractors as increasingly decisive in moving projects from planning into construction. Bengaluru ranked as the least expensive city in the index, followed by Buenos Aires, Delhi, Mumbai and Ho Chi Minh City. Edel Christie, Global President - Places, Arcadis, said the index now reflects where cost, capacity, delivery risk and investment confidence are converging, adding that projects should be designed, procured and planned around local delivery conditions rather than headline price alone. Todd Burns, Global Service Executive for Program Management, Arcadis, said clients are focusing more on how quickly projects can generate revenue, how efficiently capital can be deployed and how confidently they can be delivered as market conditions change. Arcadis said the pattern is especially visible in data centres, where power availability, long lead-in equipment sourcing, supply-chain capacity and speed-to-market can matter more to investment decisions than local construction costs. The company said its index is benchmarked against Amsterdam at 100 and is intended to compare the relative cost of delivering the same building functions in different cities.