New Zealand is on the brink of the biggest construction boom in 40 years, according to a joint industry and government report released recently.
The National Construction Pipeline report points to an unprecedented level of construction in New Zealand over the next five years.
This report is consistent with The New Zealand Sectors Report 2013 on Construction published in November last year, but provides new information on the future industry workload, including the nature and timing of planned construction activity by type and region.
It brings together economic forecasts and data from the public and private sectors on their forward construction workload from 2013 to 2018. It shows at least 10% per annum growth for four years, peaking in 2016 when nearly $32 billion of construction activity is predicted.
The report forecasts an increase in construction right across the country in residential and non-residential sectors. Construction hot spots are Auckland, followed by Canterbury and then Waikato/Bay of Plenty and Wellington.
The main drivers of growth are Auckland’s residential housing demand more than doubling (a projected 150% increase) and the Canterbury rebuild.
The National Construction Pipeline report was commissioned by the Building and Construction Productivity Partnership, a joint industry and government body established in 2011 to address barriers to productivity in New Zealand’s construction sector. It was prepared by Pacifecon (NZ) Ltd in collaboration with BRANZ.
“This is a heads-up to the sector,” according to Productivity Partnership spokesperson Andrew Reding.
“We want people to be aware that there is an ongoing pipeline of work so they can manage resources appropriately.
“The National Construction Pipeline report is validated by a database of client intentions — projects that we know are going ahead. What’s striking is not just the rate of construction growth, but the duration of that growth.
“We’re looking at a sustained level of activity over many years. The question for the industry is how are we going to meet that demand without compromising quality?
“New Zealand is a small market, and the Productivity Partnership is sharing this information to encourage the demand and supply sides of the industry to work collaboratively.
“Visibility of forward demand can assist planning, scheduling of investment in skills and plant, and co-ordination of the timing of projects, particularly public works,” Mr Reding says
The Productivity Partnership intends to release national construction forecasts on a regular basis.
The National Construction Pipeline report can be viewed athttp://buildingvalue.co.nz/sites/default/files/National_Construction_Pipeline.pdf.
The organisations behind the National Construction Pipeline report:
The Building and Construction Productivity Partnership is a partnership of industry and government, established in 2011 to address low productivity in the construction sector.
The Productivity Partnership aims to build the value of New Zealand’s construction sector and empower it to become productive, safe and profitable, so that it delivers good quality homes, buildings and infrastructure to provide a foundation for strong communities and a prosperous economy.
The Partnership Secretariat sits within the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. See more at www.buildingvalue.co.nz.
The purpose of the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) is to “grow New Zealand for all”. The MBIE will do this by helping businesses become more productive and internationally competitive, and by increasing opportunities for all New Zealanders to contribute to the economy.
This means providing more jobs and increasing the opportunities for New Zealanders to participate in more productive and higher paid work.
Growth for all also means providing better quality housing that is safe and affordable for New Zealanders. See more at www.mbie.govt.nz.
Pacifecon (NZ) Ltd was established in 1982, and is a wholly New Zealand-operated business focusing exclusively on the New Zealand and Pacific Islands construction industry, providing business intelligence in the form of future project information to a client base.
Pacifecon uses a nationwide team of 30 to liaise with key decision makers in the construction industry (in the private and public sectors) to compile thorough, timely and accurate information on building projects from the earliest planning stages.
Newspapers, journals, industry publications and web sites are checked for relevant information as well as consents. Information is held on projects which may have a work start date far beyond 2018.
See more at www.pacifecon.co.nz.
