The Construction Industry Council (CIC) released the latest “Ten-year Construction Expenditure Forecast” up to 2028/29 on 29 April 2020.
The construction expenditure forecast has been downward adjusted to the range between HKD225 billion and HKD315 billion (in September 2019 price level) per annum to reflect the latest market situation trend and developments in both the public and private sectors.
“The forecast aims to provide projections of Hong Kong’s construction expenditure for better resource planning and allocation among various industry stakeholders. The forecast is projected based on the latest estimates of relevant factors, which might be subject to varying degrees of fluctuation due to the influence of local economic development, market conditions, progress of funding approval for public works, et cetera,” said Ir Albert CHENG, Executive Director of the CIC.
Ir Albert CHENG added, the CIC has lowered the forecast in consideration of an array of relevant factors, including but not limited to the sluggish scrutiny of public works funding approval by the Legislative Council, uncertain economic outlook, the scaling back of investment plans in the private sector, and the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Around 15% drop in construction expenditure for the next 5-year is expected compared with the previous set of forecast issued in February 2019, while the construction volume in the public sector has been adjusted downward by nearly 20%.
The CIC shall regularly review the construction expenditure forecast to provide reference for industry stakeholders, and take necessary actions to facilitate the industry’s sustainable development.
Details of the ‘Construction Expenditure Forecast’ are available at the CIC website. — Construction+ Online
