The Decline in Construction Volumes Continued in July of This Year

The "Fact" writes: "The Armenian economy is going through tough times. There is still no visible light indicating when the economic recovery phase will begin. Almost all sectors of the economy continue to register declining indicators, but it is noteworthy that the construction sector is particularly marked by declining figures. According to data published by the Statistical Committee, in the first five months of this year, construction was reduced by 23.4% compared to the same period last year.

The decline in construction volumes continued in July of this year, with a decrease of 19.5% compared to the same month last year. Unlike other sectors, the pace of decline in the construction sector has slightly slowed in July compared to the previous month. Nevertheless, construction volumes continue to be significantly reduced.

In this context, it is worth noting that construction is one of the important sectors of the economy, which builds and reconstructs buildings and structures of various purposes, and the volumes of construction work have a large positive impact on the development of the economy and social security. Construction is one of the most systemically significant sectors of the economy, providing a multiplicative effect.

Essentially, construction and installation work contribute to the production or import of a large quantity of goods. The products of this sector include completed and operational buildings and structures of production enterprises, transport routes, energy systems, water engineering structures, residential buildings, general education schools, kindergartens, scientific, cultural, and other institutions, objects.

Alongside this, it is necessary to add that the construction sector addresses the employment issues of a large number of citizens. And in the case of a decline in construction, citizens employed in this sector may wish to emigrate and contribute to construction work in other countries. This is not possible in the context of the coronavirus pandemic, which further complicates people's situation.

In fact, considering the importance of the construction sector, the situation is truly concerning. And this is in a context where Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan made great promises to the public during his tenure, claiming that Armenia was expecting a construction boom. Months ago, in response to a question raised by one of the MPs, Pashinyan answered that the government intends to further increase capital construction expenditures and thereby resolve the issue of citizens going abroad for work during the state of emergency.

But it is becoming clear that the positive results of the relevant work carried out by the government in the construction sector are not visible; otherwise, they would have been reflected in official statistics. However, this does not prevent the Prime Minister from trying to present to the public that positive movements are taking place in the construction field."