South Africa Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector – Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (Q1 2025)
Summary
Construction output in South Africa is expected to contract by 0.5% in real terms in 2025, owing to headwinds such as weak economic activity, high inflation, elevated construction material prices, decrease in the construction of residential buildings, and weak civil construction activity. According to the Statistics South Africa (Stats SA), the country’s construction material price index (CMPI) rose by 6.1% year on year (YoY) in the 2024, preceded by annual increase of 6.6% in 2023. Furthermore, the construction material price index for civil engineering rose by 5.4% YoY in 2024, following annual growth of 4.4% in 2023. Moreover, the construction industry’s value-add fell by 2% YoY in Q4 2024, following YoY decline of 2.9% in Q3 and 6.9% in Q2 2024, preceded by annual decline of 5.1% in 2024, according to Stats SA.
GlobalData expects South Africa’s construction industry to rebound and record an average annual growth of 3.5% between 2026 and 2029, supported by public and private sector investments in renewable energy projects, coupled with government investment in the country’s transportation infrastructure. Growth will also be supported by the country’s target to increase the share of renewable energy to 42% of the total energy mix by 2030 compared to 22% in 2024 and reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In March 2025, during the EU-South Africa summit in Cape Town, the European Union announced ZAR95.6 billion ($5.1 billion) investment to support South Africa’s energy transition. This funding is a part of the Global Gateway program, which aims to strengthen strategic infrastructure and boost international investments in the country. This investment will help to accelerate the shift towards cleaner and more sustainable energy. Growth over the forecast period will also be supported by the country’s FY2025-26 Budget, in which the government is estimated to spend ZAR2.6 trillion ($137.7 billion), an increase of 7.8% compared to the expenditure of ZAR2.4 trillion ($127.7 billion) in the revised estimates (RE) of the FY2024-25 Budget. Additionally, in March 2025, the government announced an investment of ZAR1.03 trillion ($55 billion) for public infrastructure projects by state-owned companies, other public entities, and national, provincial and local government by 2028.
GlobalData’s Construction in South Africa – Key Trends and Opportunities to 2029 (Q1 2025) report provides detailed market analysis, information and insights into South Africa's construction industry, including -
- South Africa's construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity
- Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in South Africa's construction industry
- Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline.
This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in South Africa. It provides -
- Historical (2020–2024) and forecast (2025–2029) valuations of the construction industry in South Africa, featuring details of key growth drivers.
- Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector
- Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline.
- Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants
- Identify and evaluate market opportunities using our standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies
- Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts
- Understand the latest industry and market trends
- Formulate and validate business strategies using GlobalData's critical and actionable insight
- Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures
- Evaluate competitive risk and success factors
- 1 Executive Summary
- 2 Construction Industry: At-a-Glance
- 3 Context
- 3.1 Economic Performance
- 3.2 Political Environment and Policy
- 3.3 Demographics
- 3.4 Risk Profile
- 4 Construction Outlook
- 4.1 All Construction
- Outlook
- Latest news and developments
- Construction Projects Momentum Index
- 4.2 Commercial Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.3 Industrial Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.4 Infrastructure Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.6 Institutional Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 4.7 Residential Construction
- Outlook
- Project analytics
- Latest news and developments
- 5 Key Industry Participants
- 5.1 Contractors
- 5.2 Consultants
- 6 Construction Market Data
- 7 Appendix
- 7.1 What is this Report About?
- 7.2 Definitions
- 7.3 CRI Methodology
- 8 About GlobalData
- 9 Contact Us
- List of Tables
- Table 1: Construction Industry Key Data
- Table 2: South Africa, Key Economic Indicators
- Table 3: South Africa, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 4: South Africa, Top Commercial Construction Projects by Value
- Table 5: South Africa, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020–29
- Table 6: South Africa, Top Industrial Construction Projects by Value
- Table 7: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
- Table 8: South Africa, Top Infrastructure Construction Projects by Value
- Table 9: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
- Table 10: South Africa, Top Energy and Utilities Construction Projects by Value
- Table 11: South Africa, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
- Table 12: South Africa, Top Institutional Construction Projects by Value
- Table 13: South Africa, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
- Table 14: South Africa, Top Residential Construction Projects by Value
- Table 15: South Africa, Key Contractors
- Table 16: South Africa, Key Consultants
- Table 17: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
- Table 18: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Nominal, ZAN Million)
- Table 19: GlobalData Construction Market Definitions
- Table 20: Risk Dimensions
- Table 21: Ratings, Scores and Definitions
- List of Figures
- Figure 1: Sub-Saharan Africa, Construction Output (Real % Change), 2023–29
- Figure 2: South Africa, Construction Output by Sector (Real % Change), 2023–25 and 2026–29
- Figure 3: South Africa, Risk Summary
- Figure 4: South Africa, Risk Regional Comparison
- Figure 5: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million, 2022 Prices and Exchange Rate), 2020–29
- Figure 6: South Africa, Construction Output Value, by Sector (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 7: South Africa, Construction Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 8: South Africa, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 9: South Africa, Employment in the Construction Industry (In Thousands)
- Figure 10: South Africa, Total value of recorded building plans passed by larger municipalities, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 11: South Africa, Value of Buildings Reported as Completed in Larger Municipalities, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 12: South Africa, Construction Materials Price Index, Total Construction, December 2023=100
- Figure 13: South Africa, Construction Projects Momentum Index
- Figure 14: Sub-Saharan Africa, Construction Projects Momentum Index
- Figure 15: South Africa, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 16: South Africa, Commercial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 17: South Africa, Total Value of Building Plans Passed for Office and Banking Space and Shopping Space, Current Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 18: South Africa, Total Value of Building Plans for Office and Banking Space and Shopping Space Reported as Completed, Current Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 19: South Africa, Income from Accommodation and Food Services (ZAR Million, Current Prices)
- Figure 20: South Africa, Total Retail and Wholesale Trade Sales (Constant 2019 Prices, ZAR Billion)
- Figure 21: South Africa, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020–29
- Figure 22: South Africa, Industrial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 23: South Africa, Manufacturing Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 24: South Africa, Total Value of Industrial and Warehouse Space Plans Passed, Current Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 25: South Africa, Volume Index of Manufacturing Production (2019=100)
- Figure 26: South Africa, Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), Business Activity Index and New Sales Orders Index, Seasonally Adjusted
- Figure 27: South Africa, Total Merchandise Exports (ZAR Billion)
- Figure 28: South Africa, Volume Index of Mining Production (2019=100) and Mineral Sales (Current Prices, ZAR Billion)
- Figure 29: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
- Figure 30: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 31: South Africa, Construction Materials Price Index, Civil Engineering Construction, December 2023=100
- Figure 32: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
- Figure 33: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 34: South Africa, Electricity, Gas and Water Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 35: South Africa, Electricity Production (GWh)
- Figure 36: South Africa, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
- Figure 37: South Africa, Institutional Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 38: South Africa, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
- Figure 39: South Africa, Residential Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
- Figure 40: South Africa, Real Estate Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 41: South Africa, Gross Fixed Capital Formation Residential (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
- Figure 42: South Africa, Total Value of Residential Building Plans Passed, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 43: South Africa, Total Value of Residential Buildings Reported as Completed, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
- Figure 44: South Africa, Residential Property Price Index, Dec 2020=100
- Figure 45: South Africa, Headquarters of Key Contractors (% of Total Project Pipeline)
- Figure 46: South Africa, Headquarters of Key Consultants (% of Total Project Pipeline)
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