XN000022-1986-11-15 — Page 3

SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 1986

SECOND QUARTER CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT STATISTICS RELEASED

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THE TOTAL GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1986 AMOUNTED TO $9 426 MILLION, WHICH WAS 1.1 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND 0.3 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985, ACCORDING TO THE RESULTS OF THE QUARTERLY SURVEY OF CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT RELEASED TODAY BY THE CENSUS AND STATISTICS DEPARTMENT.

CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS (INCLUDING WORK CARRIED OUT AT CONSTRUCTION SITES, ERECTED BUILDINGS AND STRUCTURES, AND OTHER MINOR WORK LOCATIONS) IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1986 WAS $6 085 MILLION.

THIS GAVE AN INDEX OF 92.4, WHICH WAS 1.1 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE PREVIOUS QUARTER BUT 0.7 PER CENT HIGHER THAN THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985. THE QUARTERLY AVERAGE OF 1982 WAS TAKEN AS 100 FOR THE INDEX.

THE FIGURES FOR MAIN CONTRACTORS ARE FREE FROM THE EFFECT OF DOUBLE-COUNTING OF CONSTRUCTION VALUE DUE TO THE SUB-CONTRACTING PRACTICE IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY. THEY ARE, THEREFORE, DIFFERENT FROM THE FIGURES ON CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY ALL CONTRACTORS.

THE GROSS VALUE OF CONSTRUCTION WORK PERFORMED BY MAIN CONTRACTORS AT CONSTRUCTION SITES IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1986 AMOUNTED TO $4 751 MILLION, WHICH WAS 1.1 PER CENT AND 0.6 PER CENT LOWER THAN THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985 RESPECTIVELY. OF THIS. $1 524 MILLION WAS CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT OF PUBLIC PROJECTS. THE LATTER RECORDED A DECREASE OF 19.9 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER, OR 10.1 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985.

IN THE PRIVATE SECTOR, THE CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT AT SITES, AT $3 227 MILLION, SHOWED INCREASES OF 11.1 PER CENT AND 4.7 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985 RESPECTIVELY,

THE DECLINE IN CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR WAS RELATED TO TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS, NOTABLY THE COMPLETION OF THE MASS TRANSIT RAILWAY ISLAND LINE. THE CONSTRUCTION OUTPUT OF TRANSPORT INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECTS DROPPED BY $348 MILLION IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1986 WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER, AND BY $224 MILLION WHEN COMPARED WITH THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985.

THE OUTPUT VALUE OF RESIDENTIAL BUILDINGS IN THE SECOND QUARTER OF 1986 WAS $1 845 MILLION. THIS REPRESENTED AN INCREASE OF 7.0 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE PRECEDING QUARTER AND 13.7 PER CENT WHEN COMPARED WITH THE SAME QUARTER OF 1985.

/THE OUTPUT