Czech construction output to drop 2% in 2020

Construction output in the Czech Republic is expected to fall 2 percent this year, according to the results of a quarterly survey by CEEC. Speaking with numerous leaders in the sector, it found that the consensus was that despite improvement in 2021, output would decline another 0.4 percent in 2021. There were differences in outlook depending on size, with the smaller companies predicting a 2.4 percent drop this year and the larger players softening this view to just a 1.9 percent decline. Within the sector, a greater drop was anticipated for the construction of buildings (2.4 percent for 2020) while the figure was less bleak for infrastructure and engineering work (-1.4 percent). Karel Havlíček, Minister of Industry and Minister of Transport, told CEEC the government understood the importance of continuing with its investment program. "At the government level, there's agreement that we have to secure the transport construction sector financially and use its high multiplication effect, which impacts the entire economy," he wrote. Petr Serafin, director of the Construction Division of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, wrote that "Looking ahead, construction is unlikely to avoid further declines given that it will be affected by a series of factors that are difficult to evaluate at this moment."