XN000022-1985-02-17 — Page 2

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SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 1985

QUARTERLY CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT STATISTICS RELEASED

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THE TOTAL GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS PICKED UP IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1984 AFTER DECLINES IN THE FIRST TWO QUARTERS OF THE YEAR TO REACH $8 772 MILLION, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT CONDUCTED BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

THIS REPRESENTED AN INCREASE OF 4.6 PER CENT OVER THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1984 AND 5.8 PER CENT OVER THE SAME PERIOD IN 1983.

CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1984 WAS $5 990 MILLION. THIS GAVE AN INDEX OF 90.9 WHICH WAS 3.2 PER CENT AND 3.7 PER CENT HIGHER THAN IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER AND IN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1983 RESPECTIVELY. THE QUARTERLY AVERAGE OF 1982 WAS TAKEN AS 100.

AS DISTINCT FROM THE FIGURE ON CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS, THE FIGURES FOR MAIN CONTRACTORS ARE FREE FROM THE EFFECT OF DOUBLE COUNTING CONSTRUCTION VALUE DUE TO THE PREVAILING SUB-CONTRACTING PRACTICE OF THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY, A SPOKESMAN FOR THE DEPARTMENT EXPLAINED TODAY.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1984 AMOUNTED TO $4 756 MILLION, WHICH WAS ONLY MARGINALLY HIGHER THAN THE $4 731 MILLION RECORDED IN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER BUT 2.5 PER CENT LOWER THAN IN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1983.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT OTHER MINOR WORK LOCATIONS AND ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES HAS BEEN ON AN UPWARD TREND SINCE THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1983. AT $1 234 MILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1984 IT WAS 14.8 PER CENT UP ON THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1984 AND 38.0 PER CENT UP ON THE SAME QUARTER OF 1983.

ANALYSED BY THE END-USE OF BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES, THE CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS CONTINUED TO RISE. AT $1 653 MILLION IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1984, THE VALUE WAS THE HIGHEST QUARTERLY FIGURE RECORDED SINCE THE START OF THE QUARTERLY SURVEY IN 1983.

IN CONTRAST, THE OUTPUT VALUE OF COMMERCIAL BUILDINGS REGISTERED DRASTIC DECLINES OF 22.7 PER CENT OVER THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1984 AND OF 30.0 PER CENT OVER THE THIRD QUARTER OF 1983.

THE CONSTRUCTION