FNB/BER said conditions in the civil construction sector had improved significantly over the past few quarters and this was likely to continue as construction work increased. The number of people employed by construction companies had also increased in response to the rising activity levels, it said, pointing out, however, that the pace of the recovery depended on the public sector's ability to realise spending on their capital expenditure budgets, which in some spheres of the government remained a problem.
FNB chief economist Cees Bruggemans said that the recent downgrading of South Africa's credit rating would have an effect on the government's planned infrastructure development programme. Independent Online reports that Bruggemans did not expect the infrastructure programme to be reflected in construction activity "for some while".
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