In the second quarter of 2021, the total production value of Estonian construction enterprises in Estonia and abroad increased by 17% YoY, data from Statistics Estonia showed. Considering only the Estonian construction market, the growth in construction volume was 18%.
The production value of Estonian construction enterprises totaled EUR 921 million, whereas building construction accounted for EUR 640 million and civil engineering for EUR 281 million.
Compared to the second quarter of 2020, the volume of building construction increased by 20% and the volume of civil engineering works, such as roads, bridges, port facilities, pipelines, communication and electricity lines, sports fields, rose by 10%.
“The growth of the construction market in the second quarter was influenced by the low reference base of the previous year as well as by the considerable increase in the prices of materials over the last few years. The current trends of the construction market are at the level of 2019,” said Merike Sinisaar, leading analyst at Statistics Estonia.
The domestic construction market was affected the most by the higher volume of building construction resulting from a rise in both new building construction and building repair and reconstruction works. The increased volume of civil engineering was primarily due to repair and reconstruction works.
The construction volume of Estonian construction enterprises in foreign countries remained almost the same compared to the same quarter of 2020. There was a decrease in building construction and an increase in civil engineering works. Construction in foreign countries accounted for 4% of the total construction volume – this share was 5% in the second quarter last year.
According to the Register of Construction Works, 1,668 dwellings were completed, which was nearly a fourth less than the year before. The majority of completed dwellings were in Tallinn, in the rural municipalities in the vicinity of Tallinn and in Tartu county.
There is a constant demand for new dwellings. Building permits were granted for the construction of 2,099 dwellings, up by 12%. The most popular type of residential building was still a block of flats.
The number of completed non-residential buildings was 242, with a useful floor area of 107,300 square meters – these were primarily new storage, industrial and sports premises. Compared to the second quarter of 2020, there was a decrease in both the useful floor area and the volume of completed non-residential buildings. (ERR/Business World Magazine)
