Capital repair work and new construction leading the advance, while residential building sees significant decline.

The National Statistics Institute (NSI) reported a notable increase in the volume of construction work in the first nine months of 2023. The data, released on Monday, shows that the construction sector recorded a 12.5% increase in gross terms compared to the same period last year.

Encouraging figures and sectoral trends

Analysis of structural elements reveals significant increases. Capital repair works grew by 22.7%, new construction by 13.1%, and current maintenance and repairs by 7%. At the same time, works on residential buildings suffered a notable decrease of 7.2%.

By construction object, engineering construction experienced the most substantial growth, with a spectacular 32.4% increase, while non-residential buildings registered a modest 1.2% increase.

Monthly trends and seasonal adjustments

Despite the significant increase in the gross series, September 2023 brought a slight decrease in construction volume of 0.1%. Marked decreases were recorded in current maintenance and repair work (-1.3%) and new construction (-0.1%), while capital repair work saw an increase of 2.7%.

Figures adjusted for working days and seasonality show a more pronounced decrease of 1.9%, with a significant decrease in current maintenance and repair (-7%), new construction (-2.2%), and capital repairs (-1.8%).

Compared to the previous year

Comparing September 2023 with the same month of the previous year, the volume of construction work increased by 9.3% on a gross basis. Notable increases were recorded in new construction works (+15.8%), while current maintenance and repair works and capital repair works decreased by 4% and 1% respectively.

Adjusting for the number of working days and seasonality, the total increase in the volume of construction work was 10.3%, with new construction work leading the way (+18%). Current maintenance and repair work saw a modest increase of 0.5%, while capital repairs were up 1.5%.