Cyprus construction sector worth EUR 2.7 bln

The Statistical Service has announced the publication of the annual report “Construction and Housing Statistics, 2007”. The report contains detailed data on the construction sector, pertaining, inter alia, to output, capital formation, inputs, new dwellings completed, building permits authorized, labour cost index and price indices of construction materials.
The main developments in the construction sector in 2007 were as follows.
The sector continued to record a positive rate of growth. Value-added rose in real terms by 7.4% compared with 7.3% in 2006 and 4.4% in 2005. This is attributed mainly to the significant increase in the construction of new buildings.
Gross output at current market prices rose by 16.2% and reached EUR 2,740 mln (EUR 2.7 bln) compared with EUR 2,358 mln in 2006.
New residential buildings accounted for 50.7% of gross output, new non-residential buildings (hotels, shops, offices, factories, etc.) for 26.4%, civil engineering projects (roads, water supply and sewerage networks, telecommunications and electricity lines etc.) for 14.6% and repairs and maintenance for the remaining 8.3%.
Employment in the sector increased from 34,058 persons in 2006 to 35,590 persons in 2007 and accounted for 9.6% of the gainfully employed population.
Labour costs in construction increased by 4.6% compared with 5.3% in 2006.
The price index of construction materials recorded a rise of 5.3% compared with an increase of 5.0% in 2006.
The number of new dwellings completed decreased by 0.9% to 16,501 dwelling units compared with 16,647 in the previous year.
By district, the number of new dwellings is distributed as follows: Lefkosia (Nicosia) 4,622, Ammochostos (Famagusta) 2,024, Larnaka 2,962, Lemesos (Limassol) 3,112 and Pafos 3,781.
The average area per dwelling completed in 2007 was 191 square metres for houses and 117 square metres for apartments, compared with 193 and 111 respectively in 2006.
The cost of construction per square metre (excluding the value of land) rose from EUR 764 in 2006 to EUR 803 in 2007 for houses and from EUR 694 to EUR 726 for apartments.
An electronic version of the report can be downloaded free of charge from the web site of the Statistical Service under the section Publications (Category: Annual Publications, Theme: Industry,Construction, Subtheme: Construction).
Within the coming days, the paper publication will also be made available for sale from the Government Printing Office in Nicosia at the price of EUR 10.00 per copy.