High dynamics of Polish construction production sustained since 2016 and continued in the first quarter of 2020 (+5.2%). The negative impact of the pandemic did not show until the third quarter of 2020 when a double-digit decrease in construction output was recorded (-11.6%); in comparison to the quarter of the previous year.
According to the preliminary estimates, total construction output fell by about 3% in 2020 in Poland, caused by a strong downturn in non-residential construction output, especially in the commercial and service sector. Company revenues declined most drastically due to administrative restrictions or even closures for several months.
Strong downward trends in the Polish construction industry, which occurred in the second and third quarter of 2020, slowed down by the – despite the pandemic – continued steady increase in work in residential construction and civil engineering.
- a decline in the ability of commercial investors to invest in and realise construction projects,
- an increased caution of private investors, which reduced the number and volume of investments undertaken and continued,
- due to the lack of funds, the postponement of repairs and maintenance by the owners of non-residential buildings and their limitation to emergencies,
- due to the increase in expenditure related to the coronavirus and lower-income, postponement or cancellation of planned investments after reassessment by local governments.
The assessment of the impact of this third wave of the pandemic on the European construction industry is one of the topics which will be presented at the 91st EUROCONSTRUCT Conference, which will be streamed from Vienna on 10 and 11 June 2021.
