DTI sees recovery of construction sector

Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said Monday his expects the revival of the construction sector in 2021 after spending dropped 45.4 percent to P2.2 trillion in 2020 from P3.2 trillion in 2019.

“This industry was severely affected by the pandemic last year as there were fewer workers allowed on project sites due to the need for physical distancing, but we see all these rebounding in 2021,” Lopez said at the opening of the week-long 44th Philippine Construction Philippine Overseas Construction Board.

Lopez said that before COVID-19 struck, the Philippine construction industry was posting double-digit growth on the back of the government’s massive “Build, Build, Build” infrastructure program and the complementing private sector development plans.

Construction accounted for 17 percent of the gross domestic product in 2019 but mobility constraints cut the sector’s contribution to 13 percent of the GDP in 2020.

About 96 percent over 15,000 licensed contractors of the Philippine Contractors Accreditation Board (PCAB) are micro, small and medium enterprises.