Nationally, $30-billion barrier broken for the first time, due to gains in B.C. and Alberta
Derrick Penner
Sun
Non-residential construction investment in British Columbia saw a big gain in the fourth quarter to push up total 2005 spending to $3.86 billion, a 25.8-per-cent increase from 2004, Statistics Canada reported Tuesday.
Nationally, Statistics Canada reported that non-residential construction broke the $30-billion barrier for the first time ever, largely due to big gains in B.C. and the oilsands-fuelled economy of Alberta.
Industrial, commercial and institutional construction in Canada reached $31.2 billion in 2005 up 7.7 per cent from 2004, and was the fifth consecutive year of new records.
In its report, Statistics Canada noted that B.C. and Alberta accounted for more than three-quarters of the gain in 2005 non-residential construction investment for all of Canada.
In B.C., Greater Vancouver saw the biggest piece of the province’s increase in non-residential construction.
Greater Vancouver saw $672.5 million worth of new non-residential projects started in the fourth-quarter of 2005 bringing the total value of non-residential construction for the entire year to $2.33 billion, a 41-per-cent increase over 2004.
Keith Sashaw, president of the Vancouver Regional Construction Association, said a positive sign in the Statistics Canada numbers was that the gains were spread across all components of non-residential construction from industrial to institutional, which includes hospital and school construction.
Industrial construction in Greater Vancouver took off some 160 per cent to hit $339.3 million in 2005 and institutional construction jumped 64.6 per cent to $523.9 million. Commercial construction posted the smallest gain at 22 per cent, but at $1.47 billion, accounted for almost two-thirds of all the spending.
Province wide, the $637.8 million in industrial construction represented a 41.6-per-cent increase from 2004 and the $950.3 million in new institutional construction spending was 42.7 per cent higher than in 2004.
Spending on new commercial construction across B.C. was up 16.5 per cent at $2.27 billion, which represented 58 per cent of all non-residential construction.
Sashaw said the construction sector expects 2006 to be busier than 2005 when it comes to non-residential projects.
“The word I’m hearing from [association] members is that they’re tendering more jobs, more jobs are closing and the level of activity at the architects in terms of working on new projects [is increasing],” Sashaw said.
He added that the availability of skilled tradespeople is becoming a concern, but does not expect labour shortages to dampen the pace of activity in 2006. Sashaw said companies are doing a good job of working with project owners to set “realistic schedules” for completion, and have been able to recruit many new workers.
BIG BUILD-UP
Investment in non-residential construction in Greater Vancouver was up 41.1 per cent over 2004, to $2.33 billion, according to the Vancouver Regional Construction Association’s report on Statistics Canada’s figures for 2005.
Greater Vancouver non-residential construction spending, 2005
Industrial: +160.5 per cent to $339.4 million
Institutional-government: +64.6 per cent to $523.9 million
Commercial: +22.0 per cent to $1.47 billion
Source: Vancouver Regional Construction Association/Statistics Canada
© The Vancouver Sun 2006