Construction growth slowed down

In the 1st quarter of 2019, the production value of construction enterprises amounted to 581 million euros, of which the production value of building construction was 459 million euros and the production value of civil engineering was 122 million euros. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2018, the volume of building construction increased by 2% and the volume of civil engineering by 3%.

The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries nearly doubled compared to the 1st quarter of 2018, mainly on account of an increased volume of building construction. The growth was supported also by civil engineering. Construction volume in foreign countries accounted for 9% of the total volume of construction in the 1st quarter of 2019; the share in the same period a year ago was 5%.

On the domestic construction market, the construction volume decreased by 2%. Compared to the same period of the previous year, construction volume decreased in new building construction as well as in repair and reconstruction work. Civil engineering stayed at the level of the previous year.

According to the Register of Construction Works, the number of dwelling completions in the 1st quarter of 2019 was 1,770, which is 232 dwellings more than in the same period a year ago. The majority of completed dwellings were situated in Tallinn, followed by the rural municipalities in the vicinity of Tallinn, and in Tartu county.

In the 1st quarter of 2019, building permits were granted for the construction of 1,585 dwellings, which is 4% more than in the 1st quarter of 2018. The most popular type of building was a block of flats.

The number of completed non-residential buildings was 280, with a useful floor area of 139,600 m2 – these were primarily new agricultural and industrial premises. Compared to the 1st quarter of 2018, both the useful floor area as well as the volume of completed non‑residential buildings decreased.

The statistics are based on the questionnaire “Economic activity, quarter”, the submission date of which was 21 April 2019. 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.