THE CONSTRUCTION sector continued in recession for the second year running in 2010 according to a report “Construction and Housing Statistics, 2010” recently published by CySTAT.
The main developments in the sector during 2010 were:
- The construction sector continued for the second year in a row to exhibit signs of recession. The rate of growth of the sector in 2010 (in terms of value added at constant prices) is provisionally estimated to have recorded a decrease of 7.0% compared to a decline of 18.6% in 2009.
- The gross output of the sector at current market prices was reduced in 2010 by 9.7% to €3,048.8 million compared to €3,376.3 million in 2009. The subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering recorded a decrease of 6.2%, while the subsector of land and buildings development registered a decline of 22.7%.
- New residential buildings accounted for 46.4% of the total gross output of the subsector of buildings construction and civil engineering, new non-residential buildings (offices, shops, hotels, factories, airport buildings, etc.) for 20.9%, new civil engineering projects (roads and bridges, water supply and sewerage networks, telecommunications and electricity lines etc.) for 24.5% and repairs and maintenance for the remaining 8.2%.
- Employment in the sector reduced from 36,384 persons in 2009 to 34,937 in 2010, accounting for 9.3% of the gainfully employed population.
- The number of persons registered as unemployed increased from 2,598 persons in 2009 to 3,497 in 2010.
- Labour cost in construction increased by 3.5% compared to an increase of 4.8% in 2009. The price index of construction materials recorded a rise of 2.7% compared to a decline of 3.5% in 2009.
- The number of new dwellings completed decreased by 19.3% to 13,434 dwelling units compared with 16,644 in the previous year. By administrative district, the number of new dwellings is distributed as follows: Lefkosia (Nicosia) 3,921, Ammochostos (Famagusta) 1,221, Larnaka (Larnaca) 2,378, Lemesos (Limassol) 3,108 and Pafos (Paphos) 2,806.
- The average area per dwelling completed in 2010 was 205 square metres for houses and 125 square metres for apartments, compared to 203 and 122 respectively in 2009.
- The cost of construction per square metre (excluding the value of land) rose from €896 in 2009 to €920 in 2010 for houses and from €783 to €808 for apartments.
- The dwelling stock at the end of the year amounted to 409 thousand dwelling units, of which 62.7% were in the urban areas.
Further reading
Construction and Housing Statistics, 2010 (Greek & English)