Construction companies in Romania do not expect the sector to bounce back in the second half of 2009, due to the credit crunch, the blockage of new investments, and the lack of projects in the first six months of this year, and said that a possible rebound will take place no sooner than 2010, Business Standard reported.

Companies operating on the construction market continue to hope that large infrastructure projects will be initiated in this year's second half, even if their effects will become visible only as of 2010, and expect the state to become more involved in supporting companies in the field. The volume of construction works fell 9.4 percent in the first five months and by 24.5 percent in May 2009 compared to the same month of 2008, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS).

"There is total uncertainty at this moment, and whoever is making forecasts is surely making a mistake. If someone tells me that the construction market will slide 15 percent or 7 percent it means just as little to me. The sure thing is that the there will be no rebound in the construction sector in the second half of this year," the President of the IMSAT industrial equipment producer, Ştefan Varfalvi, told Business Standard.

He added that the government's failure to meet the targets of the anti-crisis program and the delay in beginning infrastructure projects will show their effects in the second half of 2009.

"The cement market will plunge 20-30 percent this year, and I do not believe we can witness a rebound of the economy and implicitly of the construction market sooner than the second quarter of 2010. The only solution I see for this sector's revival is the start of infrastructure projects, which would also stimulate other economic sectors," said the General Manager of the Holcim cement producer, Markus Wirth.

Source: Business Standard