Construction volume down by 5% in third quarter
The value of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and abroad decreased by 5 percent compared year on year in the third quarter, data from Statistics Estonia show.
The total production value of Estonian construction enterprises was €1,127 million, including €686 million worth of building construction and €441 million worth of civil engineering.
Compared with the third quarter of last year, the volume of building construction fell by 4 percent, and the volume of civil engineering works (roads, bridges, port facilities, pipelines, communication and electricity lines, sports fields, etc.) by 7 percent.
Merike Sinisaar, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia, noted that, in the third quarter, the domestic construction market was mainly affected by the decreased volume of civil engineering.
"The construction of buildings has been in decline since the second quarter of 2022, and now there has also been a fall in the volume of civil engineering. In both building construction and civil engineering, there was a decrease in the volume of repair and reconstruction works, while new construction increased," she explained.
The construction volumes of Estonian construction enterprises operating abroad remained at the same level as in the third quarter last year.
"Construction volumes abroad are mainly influenced by building construction. Construction in foreign countries accounted for 8 percent of the total construction volume, up from 7 percent in 2023," Sinisaar added.
According to the Register of Construction Works, 1,088 new dwellings were completed – this is almost a third less than in the third quarter of 2023. A little over half of the completed dwellings are in one- or two-family houses or in terraced houses. The largest number of new dwellings were completed in the rural municipalities in the vicinity of Tallinn.
Building permits were issued for the construction of 1,082 dwellings, down 30% from the third quarter of 2023. A block of flats remains the most popular type of residential building.
The number of completed non-residential buildings was 271, with a useful floor area of 161,200 square metres. New warehouse, commercial and industrial premises accounted for the biggest share of non-residential building construction. Compared with the third quarter of 2023, there was a decrease in both the useful floor area and the volume of completed non-residential buildings.
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Editor: Helen Wright
