Inflation and its impact on the price of materials, plus political uncertainty, would be some of the aspects that could affect the growth of the construction sector in 2022, explained the CChC.
The Chilean Chamber of Construction (CChC) predicted a drop close to 2% for investment in the sector during 2022, alluding to risks such as political uncertainty and inflation.
The year 2021 ended and one of the sectors that stood out for its performance It was construction, which managed to reverse the losses of 2020 with a growth of 12.8%, versus a decline of 11.3%.
However, and in line with global projections for the Chilean economy, this 2022 wouldn’t be so encouraging and a marginal growth of 0.1% is estimated in the most optimistic scenario.
On the other hand, the central scenario contemplates a 1.9% decline in investments in the sector. Here, one of the main risk elements that would be holding back decisions has to do with a drop in private infrastructure.
This is closely related to the high level of political and economic uncertainty, which would be holding back decisions. This scenario, however, and how it has impacted the access to financing, It is something that should be reversed according to the president of the union, Antonio Errázuriz.
And the issue of inflation is not minor, because it has several impacts on the sector. One of them is the price of building materials, which is projected to not be reversed until the second half of 2022.
On the other hand, the impact on interest rates is also a matter of concern.
The union’s studies manager, Javier Hurtado, believes that the issue of access to housing must be addressed as a State policy, but he believes that the action of the Central Bank is necessary.
Some definitions and measures were also advanced, such as, for example, raising the idea of a state subsidy at the foot of the houses, as a formula to be able to reverse the most restrictive scenario.
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