Polish construction set for slowdown from 2013

A reduced number of road construction projects will impact the Polish construction sector's output in 2013 to 2014, according to research company PMR.

It forecast that the Polish construction market would see an increase of around 5% in 2012, but this would be reduced in the next two years as completed road building projects hit the civil engineering sector.

In the longer term, however, the power sector, accompanied by the railway construction segment, are forecast to drive growth in civil engineering again.

Head construction analyst at PMR Bartlomiej Sosna said, "Calls for tenders to develop the necessary power capacity with the value of at least PLN60 billion (€15 billion) were invited in 2010 and 2011, which is expected to result in the expansion of power infrastructure by 11GW capacity.

"Most of the new power units are planned to be developed in 2015 and 2016, but delays of one to two years are highly likely, mostly due to the protracted tender procedures."

Poland's civil engineering market has reported continued growth since 2006, and last year was a record-breaking year for the sector. The sector grew 16% in 2011 and closed the year with an output worth PLN58 billion (€14 billion) - representing 60% of Poland's overall construction output.

This growth was driven by the completion of investment projects prepared for the Euro 2012 Championships, as well as on-going projects co-financed by the EU budget allocated to Poland for 2007 to 2013, according to PMR.

In 2011, road construction was the largest contributor to the output generated by civil engineering construction, at more than 44%.