Construction activity expected to rebound this year

After almost a decade of constant decline, construction professionals estimate that 2016 could be a rebound year.

They note that had it not been for the three-week bank holiday last summer and the introduction of the capital controls, construction activity could have started to rise from 2015.

Last year ended with a marginal decline in construction activity in terms of volume (0.2 percent), against a 5.8 percent drop in 2014 and a 25.6 percent slump in 2013.

In the first quarter of last year activity had soared 29.2 percent on an annual basis, but the capital controls and the political uncertainty saw that growth reverse.