10 March 2021 – Ana Custódio
A new study released by AICCOPN and AECOPS, the State of the Construction Sector Report, notes that investment in construction rose by 4.8% during the 4th quarter of 2020.
According to the analysis by the Association of Civil Construction and Public Works Industries and the Association of Construction and Public Works and Services Companies, investment in construction posted a growth of 4.8%, in a year in which total investment fell by 4.9% year-on-year. In terms of gross value added, which declined by 6.4% overall, construction stood out as the sector to report positive growth, up by 3.3% y-o-y.
Last year also saw a slight drop of 3.4% in the overall volume of licensing for building and rehabilitation works. The change stemmed from a lack of increases in new builds (-0.5%) and a drop of 10.3% y-o-y in requests for licensing for rehabilitation works. Banks also granted a total of €11.389 billion in new mortgages in 2020, an increase of 7.3%, or 770 million euros, compared to 2019.
In January 2021, bank valuations of residential properties maintained their upward trend, rising by 6.1% year-on-year to €1,170/m2, a new high for the series.
The first month of this year also saw the total number of contracts for public works tenders post a growth of 26%, month-on-month, and a year-on-year change +76%.
Cement consumption in the domestic market fell by 2.8% year-on-year to 262,200 tonnes in January 2021 after posting a significant increase (10.6%) in 2020.
Translation: Richard Turner
