The construction of buildings fell by 2.8%, while civil engineering projects experienced a sharper decline of 10.6%. This trend reflects ongoing challenges in Hungary’s construction sector as the country grapples with economic headwinds impacting major infrastructure projects.

Within the divisions of construction, production in building construction plummeted by 26.1%, and civil engineering saw a 9.8% decline. In contrast, specialized construction activities, which carry the largest weight in the sector, expanded by 8.6%, showing resilience in certain segments of the industry.

On the other hand, one notable development in the report was the significant surge in new contracts. The volume of contracts concluded in July 2024 was up by a remarkable 108% compared to July 2023. However, this growth was unevenly distributed: while contracts for building construction decreased by 22.4%, civil engineering contracts surged by an extraordinary 283%. This spike is attributed to several high-value road construction contracts signed during the period.

The stock of contracts at the end of July was 21% higher than a year earlier. While the volume of contracts for building construction dropped by 5.4%, civil engineering contracts saw a robust increase of 47.8%. This points to a strong pipeline of infrastructure projects, particularly in civil engineering, which may help buoy the sector in the coming months.

Looking at the broader trends, Hungary’s construction output for the first seven months of 2024 was up by 3% compared to the same period in 2023. This suggests that while the sector faced challenges in July, overall construction activity has shown modest growth throughout the year, driven largely by civil engineering projects.