Cyprus construction records steepest decline yet

**But civil engineering racks up prices**

The construction sector recorded its steepest fall on record in the second quarter, with the production index dropping by 25.9% over the same period of 2011, having declined by 17.9% in the first quarter.
Construction production has fallen in double digits now for four straight quarters and has not grown since the third quarter of 2008.
Building construction dropped in the second quarter by 20.3%, while civil engineering construction fell by a steeper 38.9%.
Civil engineering works fell faster than building construction because it compares to a period in which there were a number of roadbuilding works.
Meanwhile, output prices in construction dropped in the second quarter by 1% over the same period of 2011 but rose by 0.7% over the first quarter of 2012.
Building construction prices fell by 1.7% compared with the year earlier while civil engineering rose by 13.1%.
If the civil engineering programmes are dominated by public works, it raises some questions about whether the government is getting value for money in its infrastructure projects.