Construction industry is still a backbone of the economy

The President and council members of the Malta Developers Association presented the Prime Minister with an update of the Construction Industry and Property Market Report carried out by KPMG. The first edition of this Report was published in October 2017 and this update includes new data gathered last year from consultations with stakeholders and data from Eurostat, the Central Bank of Malta, the National Statistics Office and KPMG’s own data sources, as well as mortgage specific data that was collected from local banks. The research has been made possible with the support of Bank of Valletta, APS Bank and HSBC, and another update is ongoing and expected to be published at the Property Malta Foundation Conference that is being planned for Autumn.
MDA President Sandro Chetcuti thanked the banks for their support and KPMG for their work on this initiative of the Developers Association’s to have facts as the basis for all forward planning decisions. Salient points from the research were explained by David Pace, KPMG Head of Advisory, who highlighted the shift towards more expensive areas and higher-quality dwellings in recent years.
This updated research report found that the construction industry is still one of the main drivers of the Maltese economy with core construction activities contributing €694.12 million in gross value added. When considering the direct and indirect impact, the Construction and Real Estate sectors contribute around 13.5% of Malta’s GVA and from 2016 to 2017, direct, indirect and induced output grew by 8.9% to €2.56 billion. Full-time employment in the sector also grew by 8.9% to 37,428.
Addressing the conference, Prime Minister Joseph Muscat congratulated MDA on commissioning an independent audit firm to carry out the research so that discussions and decisions about the sector can be based on statistical facts rather than incorrect or outdated perceptions. He also stressed the importance for the economy to remain diversified and focused on promoting innovation, and stated that the only way forward was to sustain the ongoing growth and make this our new normal. In concluding, Dr Muscat stated he looks forward to more updates of this report being released in future so that trends can be observed and all stakeholders can be assisted in their decision making processes.