The construction industry of Maldives witnessed mixed development in Q3-2019.
According to MMA's Quarterly Economic Bulletin, the economic sector had both ups and downs during the review quarter.
The construction sector observed a significant decline in the import expenditure on construction-related items - which is an instrumental factor to gauge the performance of the sector.
However, on the other hand, the commercial bank credit to construction activities recorded a bump in Q3-2019.
As per statistics, major construction related imports such as wood, metal, cement and aggregates as well as other construction related items saw a drop by 35% compared to Q3-2018.
Moreover, the import of such items have been visibly on a declining trend since the last quarter of 2018.
Maldives Monetary Authority reports this decline is mirrored from the winding down on major public infrastructure projects.
Although a substantial portion of financing for resort development and social housing development are sourced externally, commercial bank credit is still an important indicator to gauge the performance of construction sector.
With that in regard, bank credit to construction activities observed a 9% year-on-year growth in Q3-2019.
This surge came "prodominantly owing to the rise in loans for the construction of residential housing, new resort development and renovation of resorts."
