The Construction Market in South Africa attracted investment of US$14.74 billion in 2011, but this reduced to US$12.41 billion in 2014.
The global economic slowdown in 2011 led to significant downsizing of the Construction market in South Africa as a result of reduced investment in construction projects. Widespread labor unrest in the Construction and Mining industries was another major reason for the downsizing of the market.
In August 2013, more than 120,000 workers in the Automobile Production, Construction, and Airline sectors clashed in disputes, affecting the overall productivity of those sectors. The country has been experiencing waves of labor unrest since 2011. The Gold Mining, Construction, and Automobile Production sectors remain the worst-affected sectors.
However, by the end of 2012, the South African government had initiated major reforms and introduced the National Infrastructure Plan, which invited private investment in the Construction industry, particularly in power plant construction. This is expected to help the Construction market in South Africa to regain its lost momentum.
The Construction industry in South Africa is plagued by many systemic problems such as unstable and insecure employment, financial instability, a bias toward urban development, and an erratic approach to integration of the Construction industry with overall government policy.
The government has introduced a process to develop an effective strategy for the Construction industry within the national agenda of social and economic transformation to meet the objectives of its reconstruction and development program.
