In less than five months, the new building code for common buildings in the Czech Republic is going to enter into force. However, clouds are gathering around it. Builders are afraid of the shortcomings they have encountered recently when familiarizing themselves with the new requirements of the legislation, reports Seznamzpravy.cz.

Revenue generated by the top 40 construction companies operating in Poland grew in double digits in 2023, in nominal terms, for the third straight year, and it was mostly the effect of the overall substantial growth of construction costs. For these companies to continue to thrive, it is necessary to disburse the EU funding for Poland promptly, including all the funds available under the National Recovery Scheme and the cohesion policy budget for 2021-2027, says Spectis.

The Construction Act in Slovakia has been in force for half a century, and this year will probably not be its last either. The new Construction Act, or the Construction Act and Spatial Planning Act, was supposed to enter into force in Slovakia on 1st April 2024. The validity of part of the new legislation will be postponed, reports yimba.sk.

Mota-Engil has reached an agreement with Hungarian company Duna Aszfalt for the sale of Mota-Engil Central Europe (MECE) and its subsidiaries. MECE is an active player in the construction industry and real estate development market in Poland.

2024 is foreseen to experience a decline in SEE construction markets but a comeback is the projected current scenario for 2025. Romania is expected to contribute most negatively to the shrinkage of the SEE region in 2024. The rest of the countries is forecast to perform better. Bulgaria, Croatia and Serbia could end up at higher level in 2025 than what was experienced in 2023. The EECFA (Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association) released its 2023 winter construction forecast.

It is anticipated that the market will experience the transition from being perceived as a problem to an opportunity for many investors and funds in 2024. CBRE summarised this year's developments in the Czech commercial real estate market and provided an outlook for 2024. 

At the peak of the construction season, there were double-digit year-on-year drops in the issuance of building permits and approvals, the Statistical Office of the Slovak Republic reports. The number of started dwellings was significantly behind even the pre-pandemic period, but the completion was higher. The pace of completion and the start of construction slowed year-on-year in up to 6 regions.

Ostrava Airport has opened an air cargo terminal called Cargo 2 at the airport in Mošnov in the Novojičín region (25 minutes south of Ostrava). It cost CZK 139 million (€5.6 million) to build and was constructed by the Ostrava company HSF System. The terminal will increase the airport's capacity and improve the quality of cargo handling, the Czech News Agency (ČTK) reports.

According to the State Employment Service, as of September 1, 2023, the number of vacancies in the construction industry exceeded the number of registered unemployed. Representatives of the largest developers in the capital speak of a shortage of workers. Olga Solovei summarised what is happening in the labour market in the construction sector of Ukraine in an article prepared by the Ukrainian Real Estate Club for Property Forum.

Kaufland intends to significantly reduce CO2 emissions in the future in the construction of new stores. Therefore, the retailer is currently testing various alternatives to materials such as concrete and steel at pilot locations. In Bratislava, the company is opening the largest timber store in Slovakia. In Tuttlingen, Baden-Württemberg, a store is being built using recycled building materials including items such as walls, the facade, and the parking lot.