Collapse imminent in German construction sector, ZDH warns

 

FRANKFURT – Germany’s construction sector is facing collapse as financing for new projects dries up, the head of the country’s skilled crafts association (ZDH) warned on Sunday.

“In the construction sector, we’re heading for a wall at high speed, and the government is simply unable to hit the brakes,” Jörg Dittrich, head of the ZDH, told the Sunday edition of the mass-circulation Bild newspaper.

“The construction section, with its 2.33 million workers is a key sector for skilled crafts, and this sector threatens to collapse completely,” Dittrich said.

Projects agreed and financed years ago were being worked through, while financing for future projects had collapsed, he said. “If the government does not act to counter this, a decline in capacities will result.”

While the ruling coalition was talking about deregulation, it was doing nothing, he said. “The regulations remain just as complex, the subsidy programmes agreed are just a drop in the ocean,” Dittrich said.

High prices and increased interest rates have hit demand in the sector, with housing particularly impacted. Construction Minister Klara Geywitz has proposed fiscal measures to boost residential construction.

Dittrich issued a similar warning a month ago and called for a plan of action. All players should be brought together, including lenders, the housing sector, the construction sector, the crafts associations and the relevant ministries, he said.