Puebla, Pue. The Mexican Chamber of the Construction Industry (CMIC) projected that it will be a complicated year and will end in the red if there is not a better reactivation of public works, which currently represents 20% of the activity of Puebla companies in the sector. .
Héctor Sánchez Morales, president of the organization, acknowledged that it is proving difficult to carry out works with local authorities so far in 2022, since the tenders are for small projects such as expansions and remodeling of schools, for which 40 are counted in process within the educational field.
In this sense, he said, the scarcity of projects is worrying, which is leading local builders to concentrate their efforts on private works such as the construction of houses, industrial buildings and commercial complexes.
He indicated that the few tenders are not only given with the state government, but with the municipalities, especially that of Puebla, whose project amounts are low and correspond to the making of parks and gardens.
He commented that the construction sector has been growing at 5% per month in production and that puts them in a complicated situation, because it becomes risky to carry out public works in financial terms, especially when there is an upward trend in the inflation of the materials used for construction. .
Sánchez Morales explained that, if the businessmen of the sector are participating or will do so in some public works, it is recommended that they buy materials in advance to offset the constant cost increase in rebar and cement, for example.
jobs are missing
He admitted that they have also not been able to recover 100% of the 8,500 jobs lost at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, when economic activities were paralyzed, since only 5,000 of that total have been reactivated.
He reiterated that in the conditions of few public works it is difficult to cover that unemployment goal throughout the year, while trusting that the authorities contribute by speeding up the issuance of tenders.
Sánchez Morales stressed that some builders from Puebla have found it necessary to go to other states such as Nuevo León, Jalisco or participating in works on the Mayan Train, to have more activity.
According to the latest CMIC report, during January 2022, the turnover of the construction companies that are 1,400 in the state of Puebla, accumulated 315 million pesos.