Compared to Q1 2017 construction output increased by 35.7% in Latvia in Q1 2018. Construction output rise was observed in construction of buildings (44.2%), civil engineering (43.6%) and specialized construction activities (16.3%).
Compared to the corresponding quarter of the year before output growth was recorded in all types of civil engineering: construction of roads and railways (of 55.5%), construction of utility projects (60.5%), as well as construction of other civil engineering projects (7.9%), according to data from the Central Statistical Bureau of Latvia.
Significant output increase (61.3%) was observed also in specialized construction activities related to building completion and finishing (plastering, floor and wall covering, painting and glazing, etc.). Rise was also recorded in electrical, plumbing and other construction installation activities – 8.7%.
Compared to Q4 2017 construction output in Q1 2018 grew by 15.2%, of which in construction of buildings by 18.1%, in specialized construction activities by 4.1%, while civil engineering dropped by 0.3%.
In Q1 2018 a total 551 building permits were granted for the construction, capital repairs, reconstruction and restoration of residential buildings with the total floor space of 180.5 thousand square meters, of which 402 permits with the intended floor space of 123.4 thousand square meters were issued for construction of new buildings. Out of the total number, 339 permits were granted for construction of one-dwelling buildings (with intended floor space of 72.5 thousand square meters).
In Q1, 234 building permits were granted for the construction, capital repairs, reconstruction and restoration of non-residential buildings with the total floor space of 148.4 thousand square meters, of which 156 permits with the intended floor space of 57.5 thousand square meters were issued for construction of new non-residential buildings.
In its turn, 46 building permits were granted for construction of industrial buildings and warehouses with the total intended floor space of 55.1 thousand square meters, of which 28 permits were issued for construction of new industrial buildings and warehouses with the intended floor space of 21 thousand square meters. (BNN/Business World Magazine)