Construction confidence

Confidence in the civil construction industry rose five points in the first quarter of 2021. This is according to the civil confidence index, recorded by FNB and the Bureau of Economic Research, which increased to 21. This is the third consecutive increase. Despite indicating rising confidence, the current index means that 80% of respondents are dissatisfied with prevailing business conditions, the press release accompanying the index notes. Before the second quarter of 2020, “there was a latent recovery in civil construction activity”, FNB property economist Siphamandla Mkhwanazi remarked. “Then came the pandemic, which negatively affected the civil construction sector, even more so than the rest of the economy. Promisingly, we are now in a similar position as a year ago, with activity, cautiously and off a very low base, starting to improve.”