Construction market reaches some 7.8 billion euros

This year is the best the construction market has seen since 1990. Statistics show that the market will grow by more than 15% above the inflation level in real terms, and by almost 30% in nominal value.
Under the circumstances, the construction market will amount to 7.8 billion euros, against the value of 6 billion euros, posted last year.
The market rose by approximately 18% over the first nine months of the year alone, seeing its highest growth over the last 17 years. Industrial space and infrastructure works have been the most active segments this year, rising by over 22.5% beyond the inflation level over the first nine months, according to statistics.
Actually, this was the only segment, which posted rises above the average. Over the same period, the value of residential constructions rose by 12.7% in real terms, while the office buildings saw only a 10.4% increase.
“This year has been good for constructors to say but the least. The price of the new flats is not significantly higher compared with the flats in the blocks that were built 20 years ago, but the comfort and safety provided by a new flat highlights the efficiency of such an investment,” says Ionut Butoi, chief executive of the National Real Estate Union (UNIM). This was a peak year for the residential projects announced on the local market, most of which are located in Bucharest and in the surrounding areas.
Butoi says the upward trend of the people’s incomes also stimulates the growth on the residential segment.
“The domestic construction market has been limited by incomes, so far. At the moment, at least in Bucharest, a significant rise in salaries is being noticed, which boosts the people’s purchase power,” the UNIM representative added.
Next year, the construction market will top 10 billion euros for the first time, and is bound to grow by at least as much as this year, namely by 25-30%. On the infrastructure segment, the construction market will be given a new growth impetus. There are sources of funding from the public budget, complemented by the cash “injections” coming from the European Union, which will co-finance different infrastructure projects.
There are more than 2 billion euros earmarked by the public budget for major infrastructure projects, which will be used for the completion of highways, as well as for the construction of schools and hospitals.