The value of Romania’s construction market went down by over 7% last year, to EUR 8.96 billion, a minimum of the last ten years, according to the Romanian Association of Building Contractors – ARACO, local Agerpres reported. In 2016, the market stood at EUR 9.64 billion.

Almost all the segments of the construction market saw declines in 2017, with the exception of residential work, which increased by almost 70%.

The state invested some EUR 5.84 billion in the construction sector, some 9.5% less than in 2016, according to ARACO. The construction sector’s share in the local gross domestic product (GDP) went down to 4.6% last year. Building contractors believe that the sector has the potential to reach 8-9% of the GDP.

Companies in the sector have asked the state to relaunch big infrastructure projects and to come up with sustainable measures to combat the personnel crisis in this sector. Last year, the average wage in the construction sector reached EUR 512 per month, up 6.4% over 2016, while the average productivity per employee declined by 7.3%, to some EUR 23,000.

editor@romania-insider.com