In December 2020, construction revived due to the growth of civil engineering and non-domestic activities, the sector fell by 11,3 % throughout the year

The volume of construction output increased year-on-year in December 2020 after a nine-month decline. This was due to the growth of the volume of civil engineering by almost one quarter and the high growth of production abroad. For the whole of 2020, the construction industry produced EUR 5,3 billion, which was by 11,3 % lower value than in 2019.

Construction output in Slovakia in December 2020 produced EUR 556 million which was the most since November 2019. The year-on-year production growth by 2,1 % followed the sector´s nine-months of downturn.  In month-on-month comparison, after seasonal adjustments, construction output grew by 9,1 % compared with November 2020.

Although domestic construction output remained in negative numbers, the year-on-year decrease in the last month of the year, at the level of 1,3 %, was the slightest in 2020. The development of domestic output was affected by both components of domestic construction output. After nine months of decline, the volume of work on new construction, including renewals and enhancements, increased by 0,9 % year-on-year, and at the same time there was a slowdown of decline in repairs and maintenance to 11,3 %. In the structure of domestic production, new construction accounted for 69,6 %, and the share of repair and maintenance work was 26,3 %.

In terms of output specification, the construction of buildings was lower by 11,7 % year-on-year, compared with the previous month, the growth rate mitigated. The development of the total output was significantly influenced by the increase of civil engineering works, which includes among other things, the construction of motorways, by 24,2 %, while the growth in this segment was reflected only for the second time during 2020.  Domestic construction works accounted for 62 % and civil engineering works represented 38 % of the total volume of the output.

Production realized by Slovak construction companies abroad, increased significantly, compared to December 2019 it was higher by 62,8 %. Of the total volume of construction output, work abroad accounted for 8,4 %, their share in total output increased by 3,2 p.p. year-on-year.

In total, construction output throughout 2020 reached EUR 5,3 billion and compared to the corresponding period of 2019 it was lower by 11,3 %. Construction work of domestic construction companies decreased by 12,7 % year-on-year, within which new construction including renewals and enhancements dropped by 12,3 % and repairs and maintenance by 15,5 %. However, their volume of their works realized abroad increased by 11,4 %.