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

  • Global infrastructure spend remains stable but some regions decline
    August 23, 2018
    Spending on inland transport infrastructure – road, rail, waterways - showed minimal change in 2016, staying at 0.7% of GDP, according to data from the OECD. However, the latest data – analysed by the International Transport Forum - also shows a reversal of investment per Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for Australasia, Central and Eastern Europe and Russia. The data is from a report by the Paris-based OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Growth in inland infrastructure investme
  • PPRA Niagara Falls: getting better value for road maintenance budgets
    August 19, 2015
    Larger road budgets would go a long way towards maintaining in top shape highway infrastructure across the United States and Canada. But even considering what is being spent now, are road owners and highway contractors getting the biggest bang for their buck? That’s what delegates to this year’s Pavement Preservation Recycling Alliance conference in the beautiful Canadian resort city of Niagara Falls will find out from October 13-15. “One of the things that I learned in Paris at the first Pavement Preser
  • IRF Announces winners of 2017 Global Road Achievement Awards
    November 2, 2017
    The International Road Federation (IRF) has announced the winners of the 2017 IRF Global Road Achievement Awards at the closing of the IRF Middle East and North Africa Regional Congress and Exhibition. This year, the IRF honours 11 projects from around the world, each leading in innovation across major road and highway disciplines. The selection was made by an international panel of senior road development specialists. "Much of the transport sector's accomplishments are unnoticed by the hundreds of m
  • Norway construction sector set to continue its expansion
    August 12, 2015
    Norway’s construction industry will continue to expand for five years, with investment in transport infrastructure continuing to drive growth, according to a recent report. The government’s fourth National Transport Plan 2014–2023 calls for a series of new infrastructure projects worth around US$86.5 billion. Nearly 1,300km of new trunk roads and 380km of four-lane motorway will be opened, as noted by the Norwegian Ministry of Transport and Communications The overall construction industry’s output va