Construction 2015: A review of South Africa’s construction sector

While the construction sector remains a sizeable economic contributor and employment provider, it has been in a slump for the past seven years, not being able to recover to the growth levels in the build-up to the 2010 FIFA World Cup – between 2004 and 2007 – when billions of rands were invested in projects related to the hosting of the soccer extravaganza. A contraction in construction-sector investment started in 2008, but the definitive turning point was in 2010, when investment plunged by 11.8% year-on-year. Since then, investment has not shown any significant growth in real terms, achieving an average yearly increase of just 0.2% between 2011 and 2013. Creamer Media’s Construction 2015 Report examines South Africa’s construction industry over the past 12 months. The report provides insight into the business environment; the key participants in the sector; local construction demand; geographic diversification; corporate activity; black economic empowerment; competition in the sector; the sector’s shortage of skills, which threatens to derail government’s plans to spend R4-trillion on infrastructure over the next 15 years; safety, which was plagued by poor performance in 2013/14 financial year, and environmental considerations.