MADRID – The number of construction work in Spain increased by 42.6% in the first six months of the year. This is compared to the same period last year. And due to the decrease in the intensity of the pandemic and the therefore gradually resumed projects.
According to data consulted by Europa Press and compiled by Nalanda, a portal for contractors and subcontractors, 8,889 construction works were started from January to June 2021. This compared to 6,235 works in the same period of 2020.
New projects
“In the second semester of 2020, and after the lifting of the alert, an increase in the number of projects offered is already visible. This trend has been confirmed in this first half year with growth rates in most parts of the Spanish Autonomous Regions,” says Ricardo Muriel, Marketing Director of Nalanda.
Constructions worth more than €50million doubled. This category went from 3 projects last year to 6 this year. Likewise, small works, or those with a value of less than €500,000, increased by 42.9%.
Extremadura
The only Spanish region in which construction declined during this period was Cantabria, where only 115 works were started, 3.4% less. In Extremadura, however, construction activity skyrocketed by 226%, to 280, and Castilla-La Mancha by 145.5%, to 378 constructions.
Murcia and Navarra also registered increases of more than 100%. In the Murcia region in particular, activity increased by 133% to 299, and in Navarra it increased by 101% for a total of 123 projects.
Construction work growth
The generally more active regions in construction work all experienced growth rates below the national average. This is the case in Madrid, with an increase of only 7.8% (870); Andalucia, with an increase of 35.7% (1,367), and Catalonia, 36.3% (1,636).
Increase in employees
Workforce per construction project increased too. The average number of employees per job was 297 before the pandemic. Wherease this indicator now, in the period between January and June 2021, is an average of 431 employees for each project, 45% more. The average number of employees per subcontractor went from 11 to almost 20, practically double.
