Construction World January 2022

COMMENT

The Afrimat Construction Index (ACI) for the third quarter of 2021 provided some positive news at the start of 2022.

in the third quarter. With semigration still a reality, experts say that this phenomenon will remain a positive aspect in the building and construction landscape. Botha maintains that the momentum this sector currently has will continue in 2022. He bases his optimism on the following factors: • There is a need to repair and maintain infrastructure as some projects had to be delayed because of lockdowns • Promises made during recent municipal elections about the improvement of service delivery • Renewed business confidence • The positive financial performance of companies in the construction and materials sectors of the JSE. With such positive trends and forecasts, here is hoping that 2022 will indeed be a positive one for the built environment. Stay safe Wilhelm du Plessis Editor

building and construction sectors are outperforming other sectors in the domestic market. In fact, says Statistics South Africa, the gross domestic product shrank by 0,3% when the second and third quarters of 2021 are compared. The report says that a full recovery of the building and construction sectors will most likely be realised this year as the ACI’s index is still 5% less than the value recorded in the third quarter of 2019. The 2,8% increase in the ACI is due to building material sales, hardware retail sales, the volume of building materials produced and the value of buildings completed by some of the country’s larger municipalities. The ACI consists of nine indicators – and just three of these had negative outcomes. Botha indicated that, when considering the year-on year performance, eight of the nine indicators showed positive growth rates. One of the stand out aspects of the report is that the share of alterations and additions make up 29%

I n the second quarter of 2020, the ACI staged a dramatic recovery of 60% from the slump that COVID-19’s lockdowns caused. However, this was short-lived as subsequent quarters failed to manage significant increases. However, the third quarter of 2021 recorded a 2,8% quarter-on-quarter increase. The ACI is a composite index of the level of activity in the building and construction sectors and is compiled for Afrimat by respected economist, Dr. Roelof Botha. As the year starts for the construction industry, it is especially encouraging to note that the

EDITOR & DEPUTY PUBLISHER Wilhelm du Plessis constr@crown.co.za ADVERTISING MANAGER Erna Oosthuizen ernao@crown.co.za LAYOUT & GRAPHIC ARTIST

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2 CONSTRUCTION WORLD JANUARY 2022