Construction drops in August

The downward trend returned to the construction sector in August, and was reminiscent of the first lockdown period in April and May.

The figures released on Thursday by the Hellenic Statistical Authority (ELSTAT) showed a 3.3% annual reduction in the number of permits issued to 1,294. They corresponded to 296,500 square meters (down 9.7% on a year earlier) and 1.36 million cubic meters (down 11% on August 2019).

The decline was mainly observed outside the country’s main cities, due to the reserved attitude by entrepreneurs in the country’s tourism destinations.

This went against the overall trend of the year, as there was a yearly rise of 13.7% in building permits in January-August – 13.6% in area and 13.5% in volume.