Construction volumes increased in the 1st quarter

In the 1st quarter of 2017, the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 453 million euros, of which the production value of building construction was 343 million euros and the production value of civil engineering was 110 million euros. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2016, the volume of building construction increased 16% and the volume of civil engineering more than a third.

The growth on domestic construction market was supported by civil engineering, which resumed growth after the decline that began in 2014. Building construction, which has been stimulating the construction market, continued to grow also at the beginning of this year. Compared to the same period of the previous year, construction volumes increased in new building construction as well as in repair and reconstruction work.

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries increased nearly a half compared to the 1st quarter of 2016, affected mainly by growth in the construction of buildings. Construction volumes in foreign countries accounted for 11% of the total volume of construction in the 1st quarter of 2017.

According to the Register of Construction Works, in the 1st quarter of 2017, the number of dwelling completions was 1, 264, which is 271 dwellings more than in the same period a year ago. Half of the completed dwellings were in blocks of flats situated in Tallinn.

There is still a demand for new high-quality dwellings in a good location. In the 1st quarter of 2017, building permits were granted for the construction of 1,764 dwellings, which is over a third more than in the 1st quarter of 2016. The most popular type of building was a block of flats.

The number of completed non-residential buildings was 264 with a useful floor area of 265,000 square metres – these were primarily new commercial and storage premises. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2016, both the useful floor area and the volume of completed non-residential buildings increased.

The statistics are based on the questionnaire “Economic activity, quarter”, the submission date of which was 20 April 2017. Statistics Estonia published the quarterly summary in 24 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.