December turned out to be a good month for construction companies and producers of building materials, according to the latest monthly report by research company Spectis, “Construction market in Poland – February 2021”. However, the outlook for the construction industry in 2021 remains moderately bleak, mostly because of a high comparison base of Q1 2020. That the second half of the year could see an upturn is yet suggested by higher order books reported by the top 20 construction companies.

Building construction markets of the Balkan EECFA countries as a whole have shown resistance during the pandemic so far. Nonetheless, the region is foreseen to have yet another negative year in 2021, before expansion can return in 2022. The EECFA (Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association) has released its Construction Forecast Report for winter 2020.

In previous quarters the analysts of the EBI Construction Activity Report broadly discussed the negative effects of the pandemic on Hungary’s construction industry. The latest figures also suggest that there is still no improvement in the sector after a weak first half of the year.

It’s at last becoming possible to assess the consequences for Croatia’s construction sector of the country’s July 2020 elections. Jockeying for governmental positions, COVID-19- and tourism-season-related priorities and other pressing matters prevented the new Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) led government from moving on its larger agenda until recently. Now, though, the political picture, and the impact of the elections on Croatia’s construction sector, is getting clearer, according to a report by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association.

The Polish economy is already past the low point of the short-term economic activity downturn. However, the construction industry is not at this point yet as it responds to economic shocks after a certain time period. This is why the first half of 2021 will be marked by challenges. The market pins its hopes on the new EU financial envelope, but a tangible effect on the investment volume will not become apparent before H2 2021.

The amendment to the Construction Law in Poland came into force on 19 September. Changes include a division of project documentation, organization of the provisions which specify what works require a building permit, and legislation on unauthorized construction, and in the opinion of experts from JLL, ought to be of benefit to investors, developers and construction companies operating on the Polish market.

Unusually, due to the current situation, Euroconstruct has issued an interim forecast which is a revision of the June construction market forecast. The results have been summarised by János Gáspár, head of Euroconstruct's Hungarian research institute, Buildecon.

The construction sector in Bulgaria, and building construction in particular, was not affected as hard as others by the COVID-19 crisis, according to a report by the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association.

Speedwell has designated Bog’Art as the general contractor in charge of Miro, the company’s newest office project located in the Băneasa area of Bucharest. Miro project will offer its tenants 23,000 sqm of Class A office space spread out over 5 levels. The project has been granted the building permit and works have already started.

Atenor announced that RoseVille, its latest project in Budapest, located on Bécsi Road of District III has received the final building permit. The developer acquired the 6,604 sqm plot at 68-84 Bécsi Road last spring to build a 15,000 sqm Class A+ office building there.