According to data from the Official Chamber of Building Contractors of Catalonia (Cambra Oficial de Contractistes d’Obres de Catalunya - CCOC), the number of bids of all the Public Administrations of Catalonia is way below those reached before the crisis of 2008. This downward trend was seen even before the health crisis of the coronavirus.

The tenders for public works in Catalonia during 2019 slightly increased in relation to 2018. Specifically, bids were made for a value of a little more than 1.900 million euros, but this amount is very far from the numbers reached in 2008. The slight increase of 2019 came from tenders from the State and the Catalan government, because on a municipal level the bids went down due to municipal elections in May.
These numbers are not even close to being the most negative. In 2012, the total number of bids in Catalonia was at its lowest, and did not surpass 800 million euros. Since 2012, recovery has been slow and has not satisfied the construction companies.
The 1.900 million euros of 2019 is far from the average of the last 20 years or the 2.2% of the GDP, which construction companies find acceptable to consider that the sector is in stable condition. Raising figures to these levels in their objective.
To reach these levels, it would be necessary for the autonomous Public Administrations to reach an agreement with construction companies and for the Generalitat of Catalonia to approve the budgets.
On the other hand, the situation in Spain is totally different and has linked three consecutive years of growth, reaching a total amount of 18.500 million euros last year. The autonomous communities of Madrid, Canarias and Galicia lead in the tenders. Catalonia is in fifth position.