Skip to main content

Value of UK construction projects up 67.1% in past year

The value of construction projects in the UK has shot up by 67.1% in the last year, according to a new report. New project contracts awarded in December 2013 totalled €7.31 billion (£6 billion), compared to €4.38 billion (£3.6 billion) in the same month in 2012. The infrastructure sector proved to be an area of significant growth last month, with the total value of projects awarded reaching €2.68 billion (£2.2 billion), a 10.6% increase from November 2013 and a huge 101.6% year-on-year growth.
January 24, 2014 Read time: 3 mins
The value of construction projects in the UK has shot up by 67.1% in the last year, according to a new report. New project contracts awarded in December 2013 totalled €7.31 billion (£6 billion), compared to €4.38 billion (£3.6 billion) in the same month in 2012.

The infrastructure sector proved to be an area of significant growth last month, with the total value of projects awarded reaching €2.68 billion (£2.2 billion), a 10.6% increase from November 2013 and a huge 101.6% year-on-year growth.

These latest figures, taken from Barbour ABI's Economic & Construction Market Review, also highlight sustained growth in the residential construction sector, which continues to be boosted by initiatives such as the Government's Help to Buy scheme. The total contract value for December in this sector grew by 88.2% year-on-year.

On the findings of the report, Michael Dall, lead economist at Barbour ABI, said, "Residential construction remained strong throughout the latter half of 2013 and has truly spurred on the growth of the industry. In the most part, the increase in residential activity can be attributed to the Government's Help to Buy scheme, but there are concerns that demand created by such schemes will surpass the rate of house building. This is a topic that will be the source of major debate over the next 12 months in the lead up to the 2015 elections.

"The performance of infrastructure as a sub-sector is also incredibly encouraging. The figures are a reflection of an exciting year of renewed optimism for the construction industry and, as a major contributor to figures for the industry as a whole, the sustained period of strong project values in this sector is good news and a key indicator for future growth.

"The National Infrastructure Plan, as published by the Government on December 4th 2013, updated the top 40 infrastructure projects in the pipeline for the UK, outlining a pathway for potential growth. An increase in new orders data recorded by Barbour ABI encourages me to suggest that the sector does have strong growth potential this year."

As well as highlighting key sub-sector trends within the construction industry, data in the report also identifies regional variations in overall construction performance. Last month, Wales took the lead as the most prominent area, accounting for 19% of the UK total. This is largely attributable to an €975.27 million (£800 million) waste treatment project announced in Clwyd, providing a huge boost to the figures. London accounted for 18% of all contracts awarded, while Yorkshire and the Humber and the South East were not too far behind, each accounting for 13% and 12% of the total respectively.

The Economic & Construction Market Review is a monthly report designed to give valuable, current insight into UK construction industry performance. The Review is compiled from Barbour ABI's records of construction data for every UK planning application, and key indicators, such as the 3598 Office for National Statistics' Construction New Orders data.

The Economic and Construction Market Review will be published monthly and is available to download at %$Linker: 2 External <?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-16"?><dictionary /> 0 0 0 oLinkExternal http://bit.ly/1eUKB9P download at - http://bit.ly/1eUKB9P false http://bit.ly/1eUKB9P false false%>

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • World Highways contributor Max Lay wins Peter Nicol Russell award
    December 9, 2014
    The Institution of Engineers Australia has awarded World Highways contributor Dr Maxwell Lay the prestigious Peter Nicol Russell medal for his contribution to science and engineering. According to the citation, the medal is the most prestigious award made by the institution. “The recipient represents the technical, professional and community service standards of engineering to the profession and the community.” May received degrees at Melbourne University and the US university Lehigh in Pennsylvania.
  • DAFNI tests UK road infrastructure resilience
    June 10, 2019
    A new computer system is said to offer huge benefits for maintaining transport infrastructure. This is the product of a world-leading computing project and is called Data and Analytics Facility for National Infrastructure, DAFNI. The project commenced in 2017 to provide world-leading research capabilities to help improve the UK’s infrastructure systems, by making them more resilient and effective. DAFNI can help ensure the UK’s infrastructure is sustainable by running detailed simulations that show a range
  • Software innovations benefit construction planning
    February 9, 2012
    Bentley Systems remains bullish with a healthy financial performance and continued investment in research and development, reports Mike Woof. The State Geological Institute of Dionyz Stur in Slovakia won an award in the Bentley Systems Be Inspired event's geotechnical category for an innovative project to log and analyse an area of the country's geology. As a leading player in the construction software sector, Bentley Systems is benefiting from growth in infrastructure investment worldwide. And despite the
  • China on road spending spree
    December 11, 2012
    Figures recently released indicate that construction spending in China will increase 8.8% each year in real terms through to 2016. Ongoing urbanisation and industrialisation; rebounding foreign investment funding; rising personal income levels and further population and household growth will all work to drive gains. However, further growth will be prevented by a slow-down in the Chinese economy through the forecast period, especially in fixed asset investment. These and other trends are presented in Constru