Construction has US$ 250 billion in projects
O Estado de S. Paulo
Civil construction promises to be the great engine of the Brazilian economy in next the five years. With an eye on the works of the World Soccer Cup, in the Minha Casa, Minha Vida (My House, My Life) housing program and in an ambitious investment plan of the state companies of Petrobras and Eletrobrás, the sector already makes plans to start a new cycle of growth, interrupted by the world crisis in the second half of 2008. The optimism is based on the billionaire numbers of the projects, which get close to R$ 500 billion (US$ 250 billion).
The confidence of entrepreneurs starts being renewed with the resumption of the credit, even though at still high taxes. Between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the first one of this year, companies became suffocated by the shortage of money to be able to build the launchings made in the past. Another point was the cancellation of projects of expansion of the industry. All that contributed to a 9.8% fall in civil construction in the first quarter.
With the return of the initial public offerings (IPOs) and of the credit in the international market, the sector believes in better days ahead. The bet is that the housing program and the infrastructure works prioritized by the government in order to minimize the effects of the crisis should have positive consequences as of this year, since 2010 is an election year.
In the assessment of representatives and specialists of the sector, civil construction should have greater participation in the GDP as of next year - until 2008, the construction industry represented 5.1% of the wealth of the Country.