The latest data reveals mixed outcomes for construction activity in Northern Ireland for May 2024, highlighting variations across different sectors in terms of project starts, contract awards, and planning approvals.
- Overall project-starts saw a decrease over the last three months but an increase compared to the previous year, despite the absence of any major projects commencing.
- While detailed planning approvals experienced a significant boost, main contract awards showed a downturn against both the previous quarter and last year.
- Private housing led in both project-starts and planning approvals, although it suffered decreases compared to prior periods.
- Industrial, education, and office sectors experienced various levels of growth in planning approvals, showcasing sector-specific trends.
The construction sector in Northern Ireland showed a nuanced performance in May 2024, with project-starts totalling £577 million. This represents a 77% drop compared to the preceding three months but is up 5% on the previous year. Notably, no major projects (exceeding £100 million) began during this period.
Main contract awards were valued at £474 million, marking a steep 51% decline from the previous quarter and a 26% fall from 2023 figures. Similar to project-starts, no significant projects were recorded.
Detailed planning approvals reached £903 million, remaining stable from the previous quarter on a seasonally adjusted basis, and saw a noteworthy 47% increase from the same period last year, although major project approvals were absent.
In the private housing sector, while project-starts totalled £122 million, this sector faced a 19% drop from the previous year, albeit constituting 21% of total starts. Intriguingly, social housing saw a sharp 79% decrease.
Conversely, industrial project-starts performed well, increasing 103% from the previous year to £113 million, embodying a fifth of all project-starts by value.
In planning approvals, private housing remained dominant with £349 million, a 41% rise from last year, while the office sector saw approvals soar by 348%, amounting to £181 million or 20% of the total.
Education approvals surged by 776% over 2023, contributing 7% to total approvals, albeit the health sector declined by 10% against the previous year, making up another 7% of approvals.
The construction landscape in Northern Ireland during May 2024 reveals sector-specific variations, indicating areas of both challenge and opportunity.
