Construction activity remains weak

TALLINN - Total production of Estonian construction companies in Estonia and foreign countries decreased 34 percent at constant prices in the 1st quarter of 2010, compared to the same period last year, reports news agency LETA. The value of the work amounted to 3.0 billion kroons (192.3 million euros), of which the cost of building construction was 1.9 billion kroons and that of civil engineering totaled 1.1 billion kroons.

Compared to the same period of 2009, the level of building construction, as well as the level of civil engineering, decreased by more than a third. If up to now the decline has been caused mainly by the decrease in the level of building construction on the domestic construction market, then the severe weather conditions at the beginning of this year brought about the 40 percent decline in the civil engineering work as well. By the 1st quarter of the current year, the construction market had fallen to the level of the 1st quarter of 2003, in real terms.

The construction volume in foreign countries decreased 5 percent compared to the 1st quarter of the previous year. The volume of building construction stayed at the same level as in the previous year. The decrease was caused in the civil engineering sector. In the 1st quarter, the share of construction in foreign countries was 12 percent of the total volume of construction.

Compared to the 4th quarter of last year, the seasonally and working-day adjusted construction volume decreased by 16 percent.
According to the data at the Register of Construction Works, in the 1st quarter of 2010, the number of residential completions was 663, i.e. 68 dwellings more than in the same period of 2009. More than half of the completed dwellings were situated in blocks of flats. The continuous drop in construction services and positive expectations for the improvement of the general economic situation has increased the demand for new residences. In the 1st quarter of 2010, building permits were granted for the construction of 841 residences, which is about three times more compared to the same period of 2009. The most popular type of building was blocks of flats.

In the 1st quarter of 2010, the number of completed non-residential buildings was 164, with a useful floor area of 84,000 square meters. The useful floor area of commercial and sports buildings increased the most. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2009, the useful floor area and the cubic capacity of completed non-residential buildings decreased.