Construction production in the Czech Republic fell by 2.2 per cent year-on-year from January to the end of July this year. This was mainly due to a 6.1 per cent drop in civil engineering, which includes the construction of roads or telecommunications and energy networks. The output of civil engineering, which is the construction of buildings, was down 0.8 percent year-on-year, thus rather stagnant. The main barriers to growth in the construction sector are insufficient demand caused by macroeconomic influences and a shortage of workers, according to Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), which today also published the results of construction production for July.
At the beginning of this year, construction output fell more slowly, but then the year-on-year decline accelerated. The volume of new orders by construction companies with more than 50 employees fell by almost 16 per cent year-on-year in the first half of this year and their value reached CZK 146 billion. The biggest drop was in civil engineering construction, down by almost a quarter year-on-year. The number of contracts in civil engineering fell by 3.5 per cent year-on-year.
“The indicative value of permitted constructions increased by 7.8 per cent in January-July, despite the decline in issued permits, reaching CZK 327 billion. The growth was mainly driven by changes in completed non-residential buildings and new construction of transport structures,” said Marek Rojíček, the ČSÚ chairman.
According to the ČSÚ, residential construction moved into the completion phase this year. Year-on-year, 3.2 percent more flats were completed. On the contrary, housing starts fell by 17.1 percent year-on-year between January and July. Building authorities issued 10.7 percent fewer permits than last year.
According to the ČSÚ data released today, construction output fell by 2.1 per cent year-on-year in July, after a revised 0.9 per cent growth in June. The authorities issued 6294 building permits, which was 9.1 percent less than in the same period last year. The indicative value of permitted constructions increased by 16 percent year-on-year to CZK 40.3 billion.
Month-on-month, construction output was down 3.8 percent in July.
Source: ČSÚ and CTK
