Buoyant market: The gross value of construction works at private-sector sites totalled $28.8 billion last year, up by 15.7% in nominal terms and 11.5% in real terms.

Last year's total gross value of main contractors' construction works rose 2.7% on 2006, to $92.7 billion, according to a Census & Statistics Department quarterly survey. After discounting price changes, the total gross value went up 0.4% in real terms.

The gross value of construction works at private-sector sites totalled $28.8 billion last year, up by 15.7% in nominal terms and 11.5% in real terms. The rise was mainly associated with the progressive stepping up of works at some large commercial building sites.

The gross value of construction works at public-sector sites went down 15.9% in nominal terms and 16.4% in real terms, to $14.4 billion. The fall was mainly due to completion of works on some large transport projects.

The gross value of contractors' construction works at locations other than construction sites amounted to $49.5 billion, up 2.7% in nominal terms and 0.4% in real terms.

Analysed by end-use group, residential-building projects accounted for the largest share in the gross value of construction works at construction sites, amounting to $15.8 billion, up 1.7% in nominal terms.

Commercial-building projects constituted the second largest group, with the gross value of construction works for these projects rose 58.5% in nominal terms, to $10.9 billion.

Comparing last year's fourth quarter with a year earlier, the gross value of main contractors' construction works went up 5.2% in nominal terms and 2.5% in real terms. Within this total, the gross value of construction works at private-sector sites rose 17.4% in nominal terms, while that for public-sector sites fell 24.1%. 

As for construction works by contractors at locations other than construction sites, the gross value grew 9.4%.

In real terms, the gross value of construction works at private-sector sites rose 10.2% in last year's fourth quarter, while that for public-sector sites fell 26.5%. The gross value of construction works at locations other than construction sites increased 9.2%.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the gross value of construction works by main contractors rose 5.9% in nominal terms and 5% in real terms in last year's fourth quarter compared with the third.