Construction industry: building construction investments to decline in 2023
The fact that there was no overall decline in construction expenditure was due to civil engineering and public clients. Private individuals invested more in conversions than in new buildings in 2023.
Swiss construction investment rose by 0.2% in nominal terms in 2023 compared to the previous year. Investments in building construction fell by 0.3% and those in civil engineering increased by 2.7%. Compared to the previous year, 2.5% less was invested in new construction projects and 4.4% more in renovation projects. These are the provisional results of the construction statistics from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO).
Total construction expenditure is made up of construction investment and public maintenance expenditure. They increased by 0.3% in 2023. Adjusted for prices, a decrease of 2.5% was recorded. Nominal construction investment increased by 0.2% year-on-year and expenditure on public maintenance work rose by 0.8%.
Public clients - i.e. the federal government, cantons and municipalities - increased investment in civil engineering (+3.9%) and building construction (+8.5%). In contrast, private clients spent less on both civil engineering (-2.3%) and building construction (-1.9%) within the space of a year.
Private increase in conversion projects by 4.4%
Less was invested in new buildings (-2.5%) in 2023 than in the previous year. Private clients spent less on new construction projects (-4.8%). In contrast, investments in conversions increased (+4.4%). In addition to private conversion activity (+3.9%), the public sector also invested more in new builds (+6.9%) and conversions (+5.2%) year-on-year.
Higher worklist for investments
The work backlog for investments for 2024 for construction projects under construction increased by 0.4% at the end of 2023 compared to the previous year's reporting date. By contrast, the work backlog for public maintenance work has decreased by 2.4% within the year. (aw)
