The National Confederation of Construction has warned of the danger of a setback in the economic recuperation due to the slowdown forecasted in the growth of the construction sector. This sector will manage, directly or indirectly, 70% of the European funds and its downswing could affect the rest of the professional sectors.

According to the construction organization, this lull in the good pace the sector had reached is due to the large volume of work implicated by the tenders of new projects financed by European funds. However, once progress is made in advancing tenders, the sector will grow quickly. According to the Ejecutivo, in 2022, construction will grow 10.4%, well above the 5% forecasted for this year.

The CNC insists on the importance of the Administration acting diligently in the tendering of projects and reminds that the arrival of new funds depends on reaching certain objectives in the execution of projects. Spain received 9,000 million from the European Commission in mid-August. But to obtain the rest of the money allocated to it, some 10,000 million in a first phase and up to 50,000 in a second phase, it must meet the requirements established by Brussels before 2026.

The lack of agility in tenders is not the only problem facing the construction sector when managing European funds. Other aspects to take into account in the slowness in development of large projects are the lack of workers and the increase in the prices of raw materials.

Construction is one of the drivers of the Spanish economy and its success depends partly on the consolidation of economic recovery after the the severe impact of the pandemic.