The Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has revealed the construction industry has strengthened in the third quarter of the year compared to the previous quarters of the year.
In the Quarterly Economic Bulletin of Third Quarter 2022, MMA revealed activity in the construction sector continued to expand in Q3-2022, following a 32.5% growth in the gross value added of the sector in the previous quarter, which, however, is 20.7% lower than pre-pandemic levels of the second quarter in 2019. The growth of the sector reflected the ease in labour shortages as well as the easing of supply chain disruptions.
As per the MMA report, while the import of construction-related items rose significantly with an annual increase of 71%, the commercial bank credit to the construction sector declined by 6% at the end of the third quarter which was largely due to the decline in credit extended for the renovation of resorts and new resort development.
Further, MMA revealed declines were observed in credit lent for the construction of residential or housing projects, property development projects, and construction of guest houses. However, increases were observed for credit extended to real estate of commercial buildings and residential or housing projects, according to MMA.
According to the MMA Quarterly Business Survey, the volume of construction activity index rose by seven points to register 54 in this quarter with 55% of businesses reporting growth in the volume of construction activity, while 44% of businesses reported no change and 1% reported declines. Meanwhile, the volume of orders received index dropped by 11 points to 35 during the quarter.