Construction volumes increased in 2016
The production value of building construction was 1.4 billion euros and the production of civil engineering works totalled 656 million euros. Compared to 2015, the volume of building construction increased 9% and the volume of civil engineering decreased by a tenth.
The domestic construction market was affected the most by a decrease in civil engineering volumes. There was also a decrease in repair and reconstruction work in building construction. However, new building construction, which had taken an upturn already in 2013, continued its growth trend in 2016 as well.
The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries increased 3% compared to 2015, affected mainly by the construction of buildings. Construction volumes in foreign countries accounted for 11% of the total volume of construction in 2016.
The number of dwelling completions increased for the fifth year. According to the data of the Register of Construction Works, in 2016, the number of dwelling completions was 4,732, i.e. 763 dwellings more than the year before. The largest share of completed dwellings was in blocks of flats and every second dwelling had two or three rooms. The majority of completed dwellings were situated in Tallinn, followed by the rural municipalities in the vicinity of Tallinn, and in Tartu county.
There is still a demand for new high-quality dwellings in a good location. In 2016, building permits were granted for the construction of 6,021 dwellings, which is about 8% more than in 2015. The most popular type of residential building was a block of flats.
In 2016, the number of completed non-residential buildings was 1,060 with a useful floor area of 771,000 square metres – these were primarily new commercial, storage and industrial premises. Compared to 2015, the useful floor area as well as the cubic capacity of completed non-residential buildings increased.
In the 4th quarter of 2016, the production value of construction amounted to 572 million euros, which was 3% more than in the 4th quarter of 2015. The volumes of building construction as well as civil engineering increased.
The statistics are based on the questionnaire “Economic activity, quarter”, the submission date of which was 20 January 2017. Statistics Estonia published the quarterly summary in 23 working days. For the statistical activity “Financial statistics of enterprises (quarterly)”, the main representative of public interest is the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Communications, commissioned by whom Statistics Estonia collects and analyses the data necessary for conducting the statistical activity.