In the third quarter of 2010 construction recorded a 22% year-on-year decrease in terms of value, and was the only sector in the Albanian economy with a negative growth rate of -2.5% compared to the previous quarter. The sector shred some 20% off its value in the period mainly due to a contraction in private construction. The Albanian Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) reported a significant decrease of 21.1% on a yearly basis in the value added of construction in the first quarter of 2010.
The reluctance of business to invest in construction together with the unfavourable lending conditions led to an almost 50% plunge in the number of issued building permits in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a year earlier. The share of building permits for the public sector accounted for 35.2% of the total number of issued building permits in the period. The majority of them, 96.3%, were granted for civil-engineering works.