Romania’s production in the construction sector went up by 10.3 percent in March 2014 compared to the previous month, on a seasonally adjusted basis, which is the largest monthly growth among the European Union 28 member states, Eurostat data shows.

However, compared to March 2013, the Romanian construction sector was down 0.7 percent. This comes after some severe decreases in January and February, when the construction sector fell by 14.2 percent and 16.8 percent respectively, compared to the same month in 2013.

In the first quarter of 2014 (Q1 2014) construction production in Romania was down 9.2 percent, which is the second largest decrease in the EU after that of Portugal.

The construction sector in Romania hasn’t seen any real recovery after the 2008 crisis, as residential and commercial projects were postponed and large infrastructure projects funded by the state are moving slowly. However, lately there have been some positive signs, as investors are setting up more sites for commercial centers, residential and office buildings, most of them in the capital city of Bucharest.

Andrei Chirileasa, andrei@romania-insider.com