Construction World August 2022

COMMENT

Despite a recent decline in business activity brought about by the return of sporadic load shedding, global (and local) political uncertainty, confidence in the future of the construction industry reached its highest levels in five years.

nicely, and to a lesser extent in KwaZulu-Natal, contractors in Gauteng saw activity fall noticeably. Confidence was boosted because there was a decline in tendering price competition. However, almost 80% of respondents indicated that order books are under pressure and that businesses are put under pressure because there is a lack of building demand. Order books remained under pressure with 79% of respondents indicating that the lack of new building demand places constrain ts on the business. Best Projects 2022 This issue publishes the last call for entries in the 2022 installment of Best Projects. Entries close on 5 September. Enter your best project – entry is free. An awards function will be held on 9 November in Johannesburg during which we will celebrate excellence in projects – big and small.

According to the report, confidence levels in Q2 of 2022 were 42 compared to the 35 of Q1. It also states that there has been a steady rise in confidence levels for the past seven quwarters since the start of the pandemic. The survey The Bureau for Economic Research has conducted the quarterly survey on behalf of the cidb since 2008. It polls the opinions of senior executives in the building and civil construction sector within grades 3 to 8. The recent survey was done prior to the start of the current cycle of load shedding. The survey states that the availability of work will remain under pressure for some time to come. Respondents indicated that the lack of demand is a constraint on normal business operations. Despite this, confidence in general building contractors improved from 33 to 44 while there was a marginal increase in confidence in the civil Sentiments in KwaZulu-Natal almost doubled (from 26 in 2022Q1 to 49), but fell in the Eastern Cape (41 from 62 in 2022Q1). Confidence in Gauteng and the Western Cape was unchanged at 32 and 29 index points respectively. While activity in the Western Cape improved engineering sector (38 to 40). Regional confidence

T his is the finding of the quarterly SME Business Conditions Survey conducted by the Bureau for Economic Research on behalf of the Construction Industry Development Board – cidb. The role of the cidb is to facilitate and promote the improved contribution of the construction industry to SA’s economy and society. The cidb is an agency of the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure under the executive authority of the Minister of Public Works. The survey says that the construction sector has been hard hit by the economic downturn which was aggravated by COVID-19, Despite this, says the cidb, there are positive sentiments that forecast that the industry is on the road to recovery. The survey reflects the strongest sentiments since 2017.

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