Construction activity falls 7% until March, despite billing 12% more

The construction sector carried out 14,516 works in Spain in the first quarter, 7.

Oliver Thansan
Oliver Thansan
01 May 2023 Monday 21:40
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Construction activity falls 7% until March, despite billing 12% more

The construction sector carried out 14,516 works in Spain in the first quarter, 7.3% less than in the same period last year, although its turnover has increased due to the increase in costs: a total turnover of 24,888 million euros, 12.7% more than in the same period last year. According to the Double Trade consultancy, a data management firm specialized in the sector, this is the first quarter in which works have fallen since 2020, when the sector stopped due to the pandemic.

The greatest activity in the sector was generated by construction (62%), a sector that leads the construction of homes (2,773 works), followed by sports facilities (1,107), industrial and logistics buildings (894) and educational centers (809), in a moment marked by the electoral cycle, at the gates of the municipal elections. Most of these works, however, were reforms (65%), with only 2% extensions and 32% new buildings.

Civil works (that is, infrastructures, such as roads or railways) contributed only 38% of the sector's activity, two points less than last year, although they are the sectors in which the works reached the highest amounts, of 7.8 and 7.4 million on average, respectively.

The consultant points out that the average budget for the works has increased by 21%, to 1.71 million euros, due to the increase in interest rates, wages and materials, which in the consultant's opinion has led to a decrease in the number of performances. Xavier Piccinini, general director of DoubleTrade Spain, assessed in a statement that the decline in activity has been limited and despite the "slowdown in the global economy, the construction industry has shown great resilience".

By autonomous communities, Catalonia was the one that registered the most construction activity, with 2,221 works worth 4,241 million euros, followed by Andalusia, with 2,131 works budgeted at 2,629 million euros. By provinces, the largest number of works has been carried out in Barcelona, ​​with 1,276 actions valued at 3,313 million, with second place for Madrid, with 1,028 works and a budget of 2,599 million.