Construction sector pessimistic about migrants’ arrival

TIRANA, June 15 – The construction sector is skeptical as to whether the arrival of immigrants during this summer will improve the situation in the construction sector– which has been in crisis since 2008. Ilir Hebovija, the deputy director of the Association of Constructors told reporters this week that lower migrant remittances have affected the sector with investments in real estate considerably dropping.According to him, the crisis in the construction sector is deepening despite prices dropping by 20 percent. “The situation appears the same as last year. Since 2008, when the crisis broke out, this sector is not recovering,” said Hebovija, pessimistic that the arrival of migrants to spend their summer holidays in Albania might somehow change the situation. Demand for new apartments has considerably dropped as consumers become more unsure about their financial situation. The construction sector, once the main driver of the Albanian economy, remains in crisis even in the final quarter of 2010– shrinking by 14.8 percent year-on-year and 3.7 percent compared to the third quarter of 2010. It was the hardest-hit during the first nine months of 2010, shrinking by 20 percent in the first quarter, 29 percent in the second quarter and 22 percent in the third quarter.