Construction activity up in Turkey due to earthquakes

Reuters

• Building workers increased by 28,000 in Q2
• Almost 31,000 construction permits issued
• Istanbul saw most activity followed by Ankara

The number of construction workers in Turkey increased by 28,000 in the second quarter of the year compared to Q1, as building activity continues at pace following February’s earthquakes.

The latest figures from the Turkish Statistical Institute revealed the number of people employed in the country’s construction sector hit 1.973 million between April and June this year – 6.3 percent of the working population.

The earthquakes in February in the southern part of the country killed more than 50,000 people and left millions homeless. 

• Turkey gets $100m US loan for quake zone development
• Turkish manufacturing faces stifling cost pressures
• Construction workers on the up as Turkey rebuilds

The World Bank estimated that the earthquakes would knock at least one percentage point off Turkey’s GDP growth. It was estimated to be between 3.5 and 4 percent for 2023.

The UN Development Programme put the cost even higher, estimating it would exceed $100 billion, or 9 percent.

Over the second quarter of the year, 30,712 construction permits for buildings were issued, an increase of 5.7 percent on Q1. The number of permits for dwellings was up 31 percent to 188,740.

Istanbul saw the most activity with 3,966 permits approved, followed by the capital Ankara with 2,026.

Turkish manufacturing output grew by the end of the second quarter, but new order growth softened and price pressures mounted because of currency depreciation, the latest industry tracker showed. 

The headline Purchasing Managers’ Index for manufacturing, from Istanbul Chamber of Industry and S&P Global, stood at 51.5 in June.

This was the same as the previous two months and remained above the 50-point line that separates expansion from contraction.

Turkey’s budget deficit reached more than $16 billion in the first seven months of the year.

Inflation rose to 48 percent in July but had previously eased to 38 percent in June despite tax rises. It had jumped to a 25-year high above 85 percent last October.