Year of growth for Hungary

The Hungarian construction market is predicted to grow 10% in 2014, according to European market research firm PMR.

Writing in its latest report, Construction Sector in Hungary 2014 – Development Forecasts for 2014 to 2019, PMR forecasts that civil engineering and non-residential construction are the sectors most likely to drive the industry up till 2019.

Following a year-on-year drop of almost 9% in 2012, Hungarian construction output recovered in 2013, growing by approximately 10%. Similar growth is expected in 2014.

According to PMR, factors that are to have a favourable bearing on market forecasts include the launch of a new six-year EU funding programme, government efforts to accelerate the tendering process in civil engineering construction, and the resumption of government programmes to aid the retrofitting of residential properties. There are also promising plans for environmental protection-related construction, and increased orders for construction companies.

In 2013, road construction was one sector pushing industry growth, and this looks set to continue in 2014. Last year saw public tenders worth over €1.6 billion organised for road construction and, by the end of the year, contracts for orders worth €1.4 billion had been signed. The contracted work includes 30km of motorways, 70km of expressways, 70km of bypasses, and five roundabouts, as well as the reconstruction of 388km of existing roads. Another €415 million is already earmarked for road upgrades in 2014.

Railway construction was another sector that saw growth in 2013, and this also looks set to continue. The Hungarian government announced last year that it wanted to allocate 90% of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) funds to railway development between 2014 and 2020. Hungary is expected to access a total of €1.075 billion from the CEF.

The non-residential construction sector has also seen a number of projects announced and PMR forecasts that a true recovery is expected in 2014/2015.