Prior to the Covid-19 outbreak, the Kenya construction industry in the Balkan countries (comprising Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania and Slovenia) was growing at a mixed pace, with growth being robust in Croatia and Romania while Bulgaria and Slovenia recorded low growth rates. However, the Covid-19 crisis has created economic disruption in the region, with containment measures bringing many key sectors to a standstill and causing a slowdown in the construction industry.

Unlike Western Europe, the Covid-19 outbreak has been fairly restricted in the region, with Romania having the highest number of cases and deaths. As a result of the lower prevalence of cases, the lockdown too has not been as severe as in the Western European countries and consequently the construction industry has been allowed to operate in most of the countries, although projects have been affected due to social distancing and safety measures.

According to Eurostat, the Romanian construction industry grew by 21.5% year-on-year in Q1 2020, while in Croatia, Bulgaria and Slovenia, construction grew by 5.8%, 3.7% and 1.7% respectively. Growth momentum in Croatia was driven primarily by the civil engineering segment, which expanded by 7.2% in Q1 2020, while buildings construction grew by 5.6%. In Slovenia, the civil engineering segment grew by 6.2% in Q1 2020, however buildings construction was down by -1.7% during the same period.

Romania is the worst-affected country in the Balkan Peninsula in terms of confirmed Covid-19 cases. The country had reported 27,296 coronavirus cases and 1,667 deaths as on 2 July. The Romanian Government has taken various measures to contain the spread of the virus, including the declaration of a state of emergency, travel and domestic movement restrictions, social distancing, a shutdown of non-essential shops, closure of schools and ban of public gatherings in mid-March. To mitigate the effects of Covid-19 on the economy, the government allocated a stimulus package of around 2% of GDP in March in a bid to support sectors affected by the Covid-19 epidemic. In Romania, construction works were not severely affected by the government’s containment measures, as there was no regulation on the mandatory shutdown of the industry. Although work was impacted by the shortage of materials and workforce, the disruptions caused were minimal.

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