In the Liberec Region last year, construction was about 8.3 pct less than in 2021

by   CIJ News iDesk III
2023-03-20   15:30
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The Liberec Region saw less construction last year than in 2021. According to preliminary information from the Czech Statistical Office (CSO), construction companies with more than 50 employees performed work worth CZK 3.745 billion. This is 8.3 percent less than in the previous year, when construction output exceeded CZK 4 billion, and only in the crisis years of 2008 and 2009 was construction in the Liberec Region higher than in the last 15 years.

The Liberec Region was the only region in the Czech Republic where the volume of construction production fell last year. Overall, construction workers in the Czech Republic did more than CZK 222 billion worth of work last year, which is almost 17 percent more than the year before. According to the statistics, a significant drop was recorded in the region's civil engineering sector, where the volume of work fell by almost 16 percent to CZK 1.587 billion. Engineering construction, on the other hand, increased by nearly 13 percent to CZK 1.565 billion.

The volume of construction production last year was affected by a steep rise in the prices of construction materials and works, which forced many investors to repeat tenders for construction contracts and delayed their launch. This is also the case of the largest investment in the Liberec Region - the construction of a new emergency medicine centre on the premises of the Liberec Regional Hospital. Originally, the construction was expected to start last year and cost CZK 2.2 billion, but all the bids were higher, so the hospital had no choice but to cancel the tender, re-price the construction and repeat the competition.

The preparation of the construction of the new hospital took more than ten years, and in the end it will cost CZK 3.146 billion without VAT. The winning consortium of Syner, Metrostav DIZ and Geosan Group should start construction in April. The costly project is largely financed by the Liberec Region, which took a CZK 1.3 billion loan for the project. However, the region also had to repeat some tenders for road and bridge reconstruction or, for example, for the construction of a parking garage next to the regional headquarters.

The tender for the contract for the construction of the parking garage was announced by the county at the end of 2021, but after the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the winning company announced that it was unable to start the construction and complete it on time due to the developments in the construction market. The contract for the construction of the parking garage was then rejected by all other bidders, citing a shortage of steel and high prices also caused by the war in Ukraine. The county therefore had to cancel the tender and repeat it with a higher price. Work did not begin until last October, and should be finished this fall.

Only 11 construction companies with more than 50 employees were based in the Liberec Region last year, employing a total of 1,497 people, roughly four percent fewer than a year earlier. The average wage in the construction industry in the region rose by 6.3 percent to CZK 42,836 gross per month, almost CZK 6,000 higher than the average wage in the region. In real terms, however, construction workers, like all other employees in the country, saw their wages fall. After accounting for inflation, which exceeded 15 per cent last year, construction workers' wages in the region fell by 7.6 per cent.

Source: CTK