The total production value of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and abroad decreased by 1 percent on year last year, Statistics Estonia said in a press release.

The production value of Estonian construction enterprises totaled €4.2 billion in 2022, including €2.8 billion worth of building construction and €1.4 billion worth of civil engineering. On year, the volume of building construction fell by 6 percent, while the volume of civil engineering works — including roads, bridges, port facilities, pipelines, communication and electricity lines and sports fields — rose by 9 percent.

Merike Sinisaar, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, said that the construction market last year was characterized by rapid growth in construction costs.

"The domestic construction market was influenced primarily by the decreased volume of building construction," Sinisaar said. "There were fewer building repair and reconstruction works. The volume of new building construction remained at the same level as a year earlier. The increased volume of civil engineering was mainly due to repair and reconstruction works, as the volume of new civil engineering decreased."

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises operating abroad, meanwhile, increased by 5 percent on year, with a fall in building construction and a rise in civil engineering works. Construction in foreign countries accounted for 5 percent of total construction volumes both in 2022 and a year earlier.

According to Estonia's centralized register of construction works, a total of 6,521 new dwellings were completed in 2022, 3 percent fewer than in the year before. The majority of new dwellings were located in apartment buildings, and the most popular type of building was a 3-5 story apartment building.

"Although their share declined slightly last year, this has been the most common housing type for several years," Sinisaar highlighted. "The biggest share of new dwellings had two or four rooms. While four-room dwellings have dominated for years, in 2022, the share of two-room dwellings increased the most."

The average floor area of new dwellings completed last year was 87 square meters. The majority of completed dwellings are located in Tallinn, followed by municipalities in the vicinity of the capital city and in Tartu County.

Building permits were issued for the construction of 6,763 dwellings last year, down by nearly a quarter compared with 2021. The most popular housing type was still apartment buildings, accounting for a total of 3,941 dwellings, among them 2,119 dwellings in 3-5 story apartment buildings.

A total of 977 non-residential buildings were completed in 2022, with a total useful floor area of 666,800 square meters. New storage, industrial and commercial premises accounted for the biggest share of non-residential building construction. Compared with 2021, last year saw an increase in both the useful floor area and the volume of completed non-residential buildings.

In the fourth quarter of 2022, the production value of Estonian construction enterprises totaled €1.1 billion, down by 9 percent on year. Building construction volumes last quarter decreased by 15 percent, while civil engineering works volumes increased by 7 percent on year.

--

Follow ERR News on Facebook and Twitter and never miss an update!