Construction: Where the work is

With Gordon Bateup, Director ACORPP

A snapshot of the national construction sector tells us one thing: the only certainty is the uncertainty. Commercial construction is sitting pretty flat, residential building is approaching a peak and could be heading for a 12-month dip while engineering construction could be heading back into positive territory in the new financial year as the resource crash shows signs of bottoming out.

In Perth, the picture is somewhat cloudy with occasional bright spots. Work has started on the $250 million Westin Hotel, then there is the $1 billion Perth Airport phases 1 and 2. And we’re all looking forward to the completion of the Perth Stadium. Also under consideration is an $800 million redevelopment of the Galleria Shopping Centre. And there are plenty of infrastructure projects underway around the state.

On the resources front, it’s pretty much a certainty that we won’t see any new iron ore projects in the foreseeable future and Wheatstone is the only LNG project with a completion date beyond this year. The good news, if there is any, is that the RBA governor believes we are 90% of the way down the resources cliff. There’s still plenty of commercial work around and there are plenty of tenders in the pipeline for aged care, retail, and mid-sized shopping centres. Education, industrial and government sectors also have opportunities coming on stream. That’s bringing more players into the mix as larger contractors step down to increase their chances to win contracts on smaller projects.

A closer look at that construction picture, however, tells us that within the certainty of that uncertainty there is plenty of opportunity for those who are willing to go out and win it.