Construction grew more than a fourth in the 1st quarter

In the 1st quarter of 2012, the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 355 million euros, of which the production value of building construction was 234 million euros and the production of civil engineering totalled 121million euros. Compared to the same quarter of 2011, the volume of building construction in real terms increased 27% and the volume of civil engineering 31%.

The growth in construction volumes was caused mainly by the increase in the volumes in building construction on the domestic construction market. Although the new building construction has started slowly to upturn, the growth in building construction was caused mainly by repair and reconstruction work.

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries increased by a fourth compared to the 1st quarter of 2011. The increase was mainly caused by the building constructions. The share of the construction volumes in foreign countries accounted for 15% of the total volume of construction volume in the 1st quarter.

According to the data of the Register of Construction Works, in the 1st quarter of 2012, the number of dwelling completions was 707, i.e. about two times more than in the same period of 2011. About three quarters of completed dwellings were situated in blocks of flats. The majority of completed dwellings were situated in Tallinn. In spite of the consumer’s price sensitivity there was the demand for new dwellings with good location and quality on the construction market. In the 1st quarter of 2012, building permits were granted for the construction of 684 dwellings, which exceeded the number of dwellings in the previous quarter, but stayed by a third less compared to the 1st quarter of 2011. The most popular type of building was blocks of flats.

In the 1st quarter of 2012, the number of completed non-residential buildings was 192 with the useful floor area of 89,900 square metres – this was primarily made up of new agricultural, industrial and storage premises. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2011, the useful floor area and the cubic capacity of completed non-residential buildings increased.

Construction volume index and its trend, 1st quarter 2000 – 1st quarter 2012 (average of quarters of 2005 = 100)