Construction works volume in Romania increased by 10.4% y/y in February, gaining momentum from the 7.0% y/y advance in the first month of the year, the statistics office INS announced.

The government-backed public works (civil engineering) recovered from relatively modest levels seen last year, while the residential segment is dragged down by the high interest rates and households’ more cautious sentiment after years of robust growth.

The combined annual growth rate for the first two months of the year was 9%.

By type of project, the volume of civil engineering works was the main driver behind the growth as the volume of works involved in such projects surged by 25% y/y in February and by 15.8% y/y in January.

The volume of work dedicated to non-residential buildings posted more modest but positive growth rates of 2.5% y/y in February and 5.2% y/y in January.

As expected, the residential buildings lag behind with negative annual growth rates (-0.3% y/y in February and -2.5% y/y in January).

iulian@romania-insider.com

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