After nearly a year-long pause, growth has returned to the construction industry, driven by more intensive infrastructure development and favorable winter weather conditions.
The return to growth in the construction sector signals positive trends, which are likely to continue in the near future, supported by ongoing investment inflows and increasing lending volumes.
In the first quarter of 2025, construction output in constant prices was 9% higher than in the first quarter of 2024. This can be attributed to more active infrastructure construction projects, including those supported by structural funds, as well as favorable winter weather for building activities.
Growth recovery was seen in the main construction categories of civil engineering and specialized construction works, with civil engineering serving as the main driver of industry development in Q1 2025.
The only construction category that continued to decline was building construction, where output was 3.8% lower compared to the same quarter of the previous year. This was mainly due to reduced activity in residential building construction.
Civil engineering saw the fastest growth rate in Q1 2025, increasing by 40.7% compared to Q1 2024. This was mainly driven by a sharp increase in road, railway, and municipal infrastructure projects.
Specialized construction works grew by 2.6% compared to the first quarter of the previous year. An increase in activity was seen in almost all segments of specialized construction, except for the building completion segment.
Building permit data also reflects growing activity in the sector. In the first quarter of 2025, 1,075 building permits were issued—an increase of 18.1% compared to a year earlier. The growth in planned building area was even more substantial, rising by 51.7%. The strongest impact came from the multi-apartment building segment and, in the non-residential building segment, from office buildings as well as industrial production facilities and warehouses.