Construction is big business. By the year 2030, the industry around the world will contribute
14.7% to global economic output or GDP. So who are the big contributors to this and what
are the regional markets to watch over the next 14 years? Here we countdown the Top 5.
Historically, the UK hasn’t featured on lists like this but significant housing and
infrastructure deficits, together with the approval of several mega-schemes has earned
us a place.
London’s USD $20BN Crossrail development is the largest project in Europe and the country
is set to expand an airport, construct a high speed railway, redevelop large portions of
cities, and build a nuclear power station. House building is set to be significant with
3.3 million homes being constructed over the next 14 years.
Between now and 2030, the UK will spend a total of USD $6TN on construction work.
With USD $68BN being poured into major infrastructure projects by 2019 alone, Indonesia is one of
the fastest growing construction markets in Asia.
The Government announced a tax amnesty in mid-2016 which is expected to see USD $304BN
flow back into the country, boosting construction spending. A cut in interest rates has made
funding more affordable and this too has positively affected growth in the country’s construction industry.
India is the fastest growing construction market on our list – expanding at almost
twice the rate of China’s – and will spend a total of USD $13TN on building and infrastructure
by 2030.
The country’s vast and rapidly expanding population is generating significant housing
demand. 31,000 houses need to be built every day, for the next 14 years, just to keep up.
That’s 170 million new properties by 2030.
Coming in second is the United States of America (US), with the country set to spend a mind-bending
USD $30TN on construction work over the next 14 years.
The US construction industry took a significant hit in the last recession, particularly in
the house building sector, and is only now beginning to bounce back.
With housing growth expected to return to pre-crash levels and major investment in the
country’s infrastructure over the next decade – particularly in the greater New York area
where much of it is over 100 years old – the US comfortably earns a high ranking on our list.
Topping our list is China. Its vast construction industry is growing at an insatiable rate
and will add USD $2.1TN to global construction output by 2030.
The country is faced with an ageing population which could see a rise in the construction
of healthcare facilities or greater infrastructure capacity.
The government’s “One Belt, One Road” economic policy, driving co-operation and
trade with its immediate neighbours in Asia, is seeing massive investment in infrastructure
potentially taking the form of the largest construction project in human history.
The top three countries on our list – China, the United States and India – will account
for 57% of all global growth in the construction and engineering markets by 2030 – amounting
to USD £4.5TN. Those three countries account for over a third of the world’s population
and economic output.
It’s worth adding that the impacts of technology adoption, building information modelling (BIM),
innovation and globalisation – allowing skills to be more easily transferred across
the industry worldwide – are having a significant part on the growth rate of these markets and
many others, down the list.
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