Value of construction work down 8% to $57b in Q2

The value of construction projects for public sector sites crashed 26.9% YoY.

The total gross value of construction works performed by main contractors in the second quarter of 2019 decreased by 8% YoY to $57b compared to a year earlier, according to the provisional data of the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD).

Discounting the effect of price changes, the total gross value of construction works performed by main contractors slipped by 11% in real terms over the same period. Gross value of construction works in real terms is derived by deflating the corresponding nominal value with an appropriate price index to the price level in the base period of 2000, said CS&D.

Construction works for public sector sites crashed by 26.9% YoY to $14.6b, whilst works performed at the private sector slipped 3.7% YoY to $19.2b in Q2. In real terms, construction work in the private and public sector tumbled down by 4.6% and 30.5%, respectively.

Meanwhile, the gross value of construction works performed by main contractors at locations other than construction sites amounted to $23.2b, a 5.2% YoY rise. These included minor new construction activities and decoration; repair and maintenance for buildings; and electrical equipment installation and maintenance works at locations other than construction sites. In real terms, the value edged up 2.1%.

Analysed by major end-user group, the gross value of construction work performed at construction sites in respect of residential buildings projects amounted to $16.9b during the same period, down by 9.4% YoY. On the other hand, the gross value of construction work performed at construction sites in respect of transport projects plummeted 39% YoY to $5.6b in the Q2.

C&SD explained that the gross value of construction works performed by main contractors covers only those projects in which the construction establishment takes the role of a main contractor, but not projects in which it only takes the role of a subcontractor. However, subcontractors' contribution to projects should have been included in the gross value of construction works performed by main contractors for whom they worked.

Photo from Wikimedia Commons.