The performance of the construction industry increased by 15.2 per cent in February. The number of new orders, too, was on the increase, and the sector may therefore expect a long-term phase of growth, Minister for National Economy Mihály Varga said.

According to the data of the Central Statistical Office, the production of both main construction groups increased in February: the construction of other building structures increased by 19.7 per cent, while the construction of buildings increased by 13.5 per cent on an annual basis. The expansion of the construction of buildings is primarily the result of the construction of industrial and warehouse buildings related to private projects, and to a lesser extent, of the construction of sports facilities and buildings serving educational purposes. The group of other building structures chiefly includes road and railway construction works, the Minister said.

Mr Varga underlined: the data now released indicates a promising start for the year in the construction industry, and as regards the future, the fact that the volume of new contracts increased by 43.5 per cent in a February on a year-to-year basis after the outstandingly high December and January data indicates favourable prospects. It likewise gives rise to optimism that the volume of the end-of-month contract portfolio exceeded the corresponding data of the previous year by 117.2 per cent at the end of February, the Minister for National Economy added.

Regarding the Government’s home creation measures, Mr Varga said that, thanks to the programme, the number of home planning permission authorisations issued in the whole of 2016 increased two- and a half-fold in an annual comparison: 31.559 planning permission authorisations were registered. He added: parallel with this, the number of home construction projects increased significantly, and almost 10 thousand new homes were built last year. The Minister further reported that we may expect a considerable rise in the number of new homes also this year, which will positively support the output of the construction industry.

Mr Varga stressed: in addition to the dynamic growth of the housing market, the expansion of the planned new state and private projects may also boost the sector.

(Ministry for National Economy)