The continued downward trend of Slovakia’s construction output is hoped to slow to 4.6 percent following its 12.5 percent contraction last year. This estimate has been published in an analysis of the Slovak building sector’s first quarter by the company CEEC Research at the opening of the construction fair Coneco in Bratislava’s Incheba expo centre on Tuesday.
As the director of the company, Juraj Vacek, said during a meeting with business leaders from the Slovak construction sector, next year a moderate stabilisation of the sector with a growth of some 0.5 percent can be expected. This estimate is conditioned on the successful completion of several highway tenders announced this March. Construction capacities are currently operating at only 63 percent and less than half of the 100 companies addressed believe their situation will improve. Prime Minister Robert Fico who met with representatives of construction firms said that builders are impatiently waiting for the end of the long winter but in particular they are eager to learn of the results of tenders for large scale orders that might partly help the ailing sector. As Fico said the crisis is real but at the same time it is also an opportunity for construction companies to demonstrate their ability to react to market changes and rationalise their activities without cutting employment or their real influence on the market.
Gavin Shoebridge
