Information from the Statistics and Census Service (DSEC) indicated that the Construction Sector registered year-on-year decline in all of its principal indicators in 2009, attributable to the prolonged suspension regarding the construction of some major tourism and gaming facilities. In 2009, a total of 1,293 establishments were operating in the Construction Sector, down by 217 (-14.4%) over 2008; number of persons engaged decreased by 28.6% to 18,732. Total Value of Construction amounted to MOP30.92 billion, down substantially by 41.2% year-on-year; Gross Output (sum of Value of Construction Work and Other Receipts) decreased notably by 41.5% to MOP31.16 billion; Gross Value Added that measures the sectoral contribution to the economy (MOP5.35 billion) also registered significant decrease of 53.7%; besides, Intermediate Consumption (MOP25.80 billion) and Labour Cost (MOP3.40 billion) went down by 38.1% and 44.6% respectively. There were 1,450 construction projects carried out in 2009, of which 874 were private construction projects, with the total value falling by 47.2% year-on-year to MOP26.34 billion; value of construction of tourism and gaming facilities and hotels amounted to MOP20.80 billion (79.0% of total value of private construction project), down by 51.1% over 2008. Private residential projects totalled 535 (including 426 were government-funded Scheme for Common Parts Maintenance of Low-Rise Building) and the total value of construction decreased by 21.6% to MOP4.10 billion. There were 576 public construction projects in 2009 and the total value soared by 69.3% year-on-year to MOP4.59 billion. Furthermore, construction of public housing has been readily underway, pushing the value of construction up by 2.9 times to MOP1.28 billion; besides, value of infrastructural construction increased by 46.4% to MOP1.52 billion, with construction of piers and roads accounting for 76.1% of the total value of infrastructural construction. Coverage of the Construction Survey comprised the construction establishments engaging in licensed construction work in 2009.
