{"id":213427,"date":"2025-06-25T15:07:12","date_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:07:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/213427\/"},"modified":"2025-06-25T15:07:12","modified_gmt":"2025-06-25T15:07:12","slug":"northern-ireland-is-back-building-again-as-construction-set-for-spectacular-recovery-the-irish-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/213427\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland is back building again as construction set for \u2018spectacular recovery\u2019 \u2013 The Irish News"},"content":{"rendered":"

The north\u2019s long-beleaguered construction sector is set for a \u201cspectacular\u201d recovery in the remainder of this year and in 2026 as infrastructure and housing momentum builds, according to industry data.<\/p>\n

And the latest forecast from industry intelligence specialists CIS goes as far as to predict that, following a period of turbulence, total construction starts will rise by close to 75% from a value of \u00a31.55 billion in 2024 to \u00a32.7 billion over three years, including a 71% increase in 2026 alone.<\/p>\n

The agency\u2019s 2025\u20132027 Irish construction forecast says the uplift is underpinned by significant capital investment, a healthy public sector pipeline and signs of renewed confidence across health, education and industrial sectors.<\/p>\n

The barometer says Northern Ireland is seeing major investment in its public estate, with healthcare (where there was a budget allocation of \u00a3391 million for capital investment) and education (which was given a \u00a3270m capex budget) emerging as key growth drivers.<\/p>\n

\"Vehicle<\/a>\"Halt:<\/a>\"DeputyDeputy first minister Emma Little-Pengelly , education minister Paul Givan and first minister Michelle O’Neill cut sods at the site of the new \u00a3373m Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh in May <\/p>\n

It cited work being under way on the landmark \u00a3389 million Children\u2019s Hospital in Belfast, while the \u00a3375 million Strule Shared Education Campus in Omagh is also under construction.<\/p>\n

Overall education starts rose by 200% in 2024 to \u00a3532 million while health project starts jumped to \u00a3505 million in the first three months of this year alone.<\/p>\n

While housing delivery has been challenged by infrastructure constraints \u2013 particularly around waste and water systems \u2013 CIS predicts 2026 will be a \u201cpivotal year\u201d, with residential starts increasing by 46% in 2026 and a further 8% in 2027.<\/p>\n

Social housing starts rose 94% in 2024, while 424 new homes were started in the first quarter of 2025 across 24 schemes as 1,606 new homes worth \u00a3191m received planning permission.<\/p>\n

The north\u2019s industrial and commercial sectors continue to attract investment, even amid economic headwinds, as non-residential starts are forecast to rise 3% in 2025 and 79% in 2026.<\/p>\n

Industrial project values hit \u00a3206 million in 2024 as office starts more than doubled (up 125%), with 31 projects granted planning permission in Q1 2025.<\/p>\n

Retail sector remains active, with \u00a320 million in new schemes beginning construction in early 2025.<\/p>\n

Some \u00a381 million worth of new hospitality projects began in 2024 \u2013 a 121% increase on the previous year. These include 585 new hotel beds, with 158 more under way in quarter one 2025.<\/p>\n

\"Belfast'sSome \u00a381 million worth of new hospitality projects began in the north in 2024 \u2013 a 121% increase on the previous year. This is set to rise in this and next says CIS, with a number of new projects including a hotel at Whites Tavern in Belfast (Gary) <\/p>\n

Planning approvals remain strong, with 36 new hospitality projects valued at \u00a334 million, green-lit in January, February and March.<\/p>\n

Pat McGrath, insights manager at CIS, said: \u201cAfter a volatile year for Northern Ireland\u2019s construction sector, the outlook is improving significantly. <\/p>\n

\u201cWith major flagship projects underway and critical infrastructure investment being unlocked, we expect growth to accelerate through 2025 and peak in 2026. It\u2019s a crucial time for delivery \u2013 and for suppliers and contractors to prepare.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The north\u2019s long-beleaguered construction sector is set for a \u201cspectacular\u201d recovery in the remainder of this year and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213428,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5011],"tags":[1144,34323,80645,84961,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-213427","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-northern-ireland","8":"tag-northern-ireland","9":"tag-pa2025","10":"tag-reppic","11":"tag-strule-shared-education-campus-sod-cutting-event","12":"tag-uk","13":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114744632703386412","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213427","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213427"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213427\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213428"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213427"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213427"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213427"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}