Central Europe Construction Review - newsletter with key market news, market commentaries and statistical data covering construction industry in Central and Eastern Europe (Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Slovakia)

 

Central Europe Construction Online - internet service providing subscribers with an on-line access to database of up-to-date industry news as well as broad archives of news covering Central and Eastern European construction market.

 

 

Polish construction market - PMR website with latest news, articles and market commentaries covering construction industry in Poland<

Polish Construction Review - newsletter with up-to-date news covering construction market in Poland

Construction Poland Online - on-line access to database of news covering Polish construction sector

 

 

Russian construction market - PMR website with latest news, articles and market commentaries covering construction industry in Russia

Russian Construction Review - newsletter with up-to-date news covering construction market in Russia

Construction Russia Online - on-line access to database of news covering Russian construction sector

The construction sectors of the three largest former Soviet Union countries are

still in the red but are showing some signs of recovery. Whereas Russia and Kazakhstan

may even experience moderate growth this year, Ukraine will probably not follow in

their footsteps until 2011, according to the PMR report “Construction in CIS countries 2010”.

 

According to the report by PMR, entitled “Construction market in Romania 2010”. In the medium and long term, Romania remains one of the most promising construction markets in Europe. The per capita area of residential and commercial properties is relatively modest in comparison with those of other EU member states, and the country’s infrastructure is underdeveloped and in need of sizeable investment. Substantial funds from the EU are available for this purpose, but the Romanian government has to learn how to use them effectively. This process took several years in the countries which entered the EU in 2004, and a similar development should be expected in Romania.

 

The results of a survey of high-level professionals from the management and operating divisions of 200 largest Polish construction companies, which was conducted by research and consulting company PMR for the purposes of report entitled “Construction sector in Poland H1 2010”, are evidence that sentiment in the Polish construction industry has taken a slight turn for the better. In March 2010, PMR Polish Construction Climate Indicator had a value of 6.8 pts, demonstrating that construction companies were more optimistic in their assessment of the market situation than they had been a year ago, despite adverse market circumstances prevailing in Q1 2010.

 

In 2007, when the construction industry was booming, total cement consumption in the six countries increased by more than 13%. This was followed by another increase, of 5%, in 2008, and the volume of the cement market in the region reached a record 44.4 million tonnes. Last year, however, when construction activity all over the region slumped, cement consumption underwent a steep decline of more than one-fifth, to less than 35 million tonnes. According to the report by PMR, entitled “Cement market in Central Europe 2010”, in 2010, a slight increase should be expected and this will be followed by a nearly 10% growth in 2011. Much of this increase in sales volumes in the region next year will be accounted for by Poland, where preparations for UEFA Euro 2012 will reach their peak.

 

When almost all projects which relied on private funds ground to a halt last year, the Czech construction industry was expected to undergo a severe contraction, and its condition seemed similar to those of Slovakia, Romania and Bulgaria. As if the economic crisis were not enough, construction companies in the Czech Republic have been under constant pressure from the government to adhere to inspections and regulations pertaining to licensing and safety. Furthermore, the industry has experienced increasing pressure from clients to reduce costs and improve completion times.[…] Learn more from PMR report entitled “Construction sector in the Czech Republic 2010”.

 

In 2009, the Slovak construction industry saw a major decline after the construction boom. Construction output fell by 11.3%, in contrast to a 12% increase in 2008. The steepest reduction was seen in repair and maintenance work, whereas there was a 10.9% fall in the volume of new construction, modernisation and reconstruction. The slight increase in civil engineering work (0.9%) was unable to counterbalance the steep decline in the construction of buildings (-15.1%). Read more in PMR report entitled “Construction sector in Slovakia 2010”.

 

According to the “Construction sector in Russia 2009” report published by PMR, the situation on the Russian construction market began to deteriorate in the second half of 2008 and the slowdown deepened towards the end of the year. Yet thanks to healthy growth figures posted in H1, growth figures for the entire year remained strong. “Without the buffer of a strong first six months, 2009 has witnessed a fully fledged construction crisis, with output, employment and other key indicators for the industry falling sharply.”, according to Robert Obetkon, a Senior Construction Analyst at PMR and the author of the report. In rouble terms and at the time of publication, the Russian construction industry contracted by 18.4% in the first three quarters of 2009. In dollar terms, however, and due to the depreciation of the rouble, the value of the industry plummeted to just $81bn for the period Q1-Q3 2009 - down from $129bn in the same period one year earlier.