Strong recovery expected for Spanish construction industry in 2021 with 7.4% expansion

Following the release of data from the Spanish National Statistics Institute (INE) showing a sharp fall in construction output in 2020;

Moustafa Ali, Economist at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers his view on the outlook for the Spanish construction industry:

“Spanish construction output fell sharply in 2020, recording a contraction of 18.2% in Q4 2020. The lockdown measures imposed by the government in November and the subsequent weakening in economic conditions severely hampered output in the country’s construction industry in Q4 2020. However, GlobalData expects a strong recovery in 2021, with an expansion of 7.4% expected this year. The industry will be supported by a combination of increased government spending on infrastructure projects. Moreover, a successful vaccine rollout programme will speed up the easing of travel restrictions and an increase in tourism flows, which will support the commercial sector.

“However, downside risks remain as the Spanish economy was deeply scarred by the virus outbreak, with real GDP contracting by 9.1% in 2020. Although the easing of the lockdown measures and recovery in economic activity may be hampered by the slow vaccine rollout programme across the EU, the baseline scenario remains positive, with fiscal and monetary support driving the recovery in 2021.”