Construction volume increased in the 3rd quarter

In the 3rd quarter of 2017, the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 747 million euros, of which the production value of building construction was 474 million euros and the production value of civil engineering was 272 million euros. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2016, the volume of building construction increased 17% and the volume of civil engineering by a fourth.

Building construction contributed the most to the growth of the domestic construction market. Compared to the same period of the previous year, construction volume increased in new building construction as well as in repair and reconstruction work. The growth was supported also by civil engineering which resumed growth at the beginning of this year.

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries decreased approximately a third compared to the 3rd quarter of 2016, mainly on account of smaller volume of building construction. Construction volume in foreign countries accounted for 7% of the total volume of construction in the 3rd quarter of 2017; the share in the same period a year ago was 13%.

According to the Register of Construction Works, in the 3rd quarter of 2017, the number of dwelling completions was 1,475, which is 391 dwellings more than in the same period a year ago. Approximately a half of the completed dwellings were in blocks of flats situated in Tallinn.

There is still demand for new high-quality dwellings in a good location. In the 3rd quarter of 2017, building permits were granted for the construction of 1,820 dwellings, which is over a fifth more than in the 3rd quarter of 2016. The most popular type of building was a block of flats.

The number of completed non-residential buildings was 323 with a useful floor area of 159,000 square metres – these were primarily new offices and industrial premises. Compared to the 3rd quarter of 2016, both the useful floor area and volume of completed non-residential buildings decreased.

The statistics are based on the questionnaire “Economic activity, quarter”, the submission date of which was 21 October 2017. Statistics Estonia published the quarterly summary in 25 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.