ARTICLES LABELLED WITH TAG construction

The construction industry in most of Southeastern Europe will be bruised by the pandemic effects this year, causing a drop in construction outputs. The two exceptions are Croatia and Bulgaria where civil engineering could compensate for the losses elsewhere. Already in 2021, we are likely to see positive growth rates in all 5 countries, according to the Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association

Despite a short-lasting downturn in economic activity caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the Polish construction industry will continue to exhibit significant potential for growth right up to 2025. Notably, the outlook for the civil engineering sector has improved compared with the previous projections. A vast majority of projects underway or planned to implemented are located in the six most economically advanced regions, which account for almost 65% of the construction market’s total value.

The European construction industry will be hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis, according to Euroconstruct's latest forecast for 19 European member states.

The first quarter of the year 2020, mostly starting with mid-February, was marked by ominous economic forecasts. Thus, some decline in construction activity was to be expected, and indeed newly started construction projects dropped to just over €1.3 billion in Q1 2020. This amounts to a 14% decrease compared to the equivalent period of 2019, according to the latest edition of the EBI Construction Activity Report for Romania.

The National Federation of Hungarian Building Contractors (ÉVOSZ) expects orders that were never placed in the last two months will be arriving in mid-June. 

The structure of OTP Bank's new office building in Budapest has been completed by developer Market Építő Zrt. The seven-story office building, which is being built in the 13th district, in the immediate vicinity of OTP Bank's existing office park, will be home to 3,000 employees once construction is complete in end-2021.

As the first coronavirus cases were registered in Hungary at the beginning of March, the effect of the epidemic on first-quarter figures might have been smaller. The epidemic may affect the construction industry in two ways. Projects that have already started may stop or may continue at a slower pace and it may hold back the value of projects entering construction phase.  Results show that there was a massive decline in the value of completed projects already in Q1 2020. The value of the Activity Completion Indicator of the EBI Construction Activity Report in the domestic construction industry decreased by 29% due to the epidemic, and several hundred projects were delayed.

Penta Real Estate has obtained a zoning decision which means that it can apply for a building permit for its Masaryk station mixed-use reconstruction project in the centre of Prague. Based on the design of Zaha Hadid Architects, the project has been in the works for over a decade. Completion is planned for 2022-2025.

In the Serbian economy, the construction industry has been one of the sectors least affected by COVID-19, with only smaller decrease recorded in production volumes and logistical capacity. The Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association has published a COVID-19 update on the construction sector of Serbia.

COVID-19’s direct impact on ongoing construction activity in Romania has been minimal since no restrictions were in place specifically targeting construction works. Several indirect factors, however, are expected to limit the amount of construction activity. The Eastern European Construction Forecasting Association has published a COVID-19 update on the construction sector of Romania.