The global building repair industry is facing a host of development opportunities and challenges. Over the past decade, infrastructure construction in developed countries around the world has been largely completed, and China’s infrastructure development has also become increasingly sophisticated.
However, global economic growth has slowed down. After experiencing explosive growth in 2006, the infrastructure industry has gradually contracted into a steady growth phase, with most economic growth now driven by emerging markets.
Against the backdrop of the gradual tightening of US financial and monetary policies and deteriorating global geopolitical risks, emerging economies are confronted with greater uncertainty and a more challenging credit environment. This has left many emerging economies in an unstable state, exposing construction projects to substantial risks. It is projected that China will reduce its reliance on infrastructure projects to underpin economic growth in the future.
Viewpoint: The global building repair market still holds growth potential
Recent studies indicate that the global building repair market still possesses considerable growth potential. Repair materials serve as one of the major driving factors for the expansion of the global building repair market. The Asia-Pacific region is expected to emerge as the world’s largest building repair market. The large-scale expansion of the construction sector in emerging economies such as India and China, coupled with rising spending on renovation and maintenance in developed economies including Australia and Japan, will play a vital role in driving market growth.
Argumentation: Illustrated with Canada, the United States and China as examples
In many countries, expenditure on building maintenance and repair has already exceeded the cost of new construction projects. For instance, 26% of Canada’s federal infrastructure budget is allocated to building repair and rehabilitation.
In the United States, the government has invested massive funds in the maintenance and repair of buildings and infrastructure. On March 7, 2018, Senate Democrats unveiled a proposal for USD 1 trillion in U.S. infrastructure investment. Under the proposal, transportation infrastructure funding includes:
- USD 140 billion to secure the solvency of the Highway Trust Fund over the next decade;
- An additional USD 140 billion for road and bridge rehabilitation;
- USD 10 billion for the expansion of the TIGER program;
- USD 115 billion for the repair and improvement of public transit;
- USD 50 billion for the modernization and upgrading of railway infrastructure;
- USD 40 billion for the new Vital Infrastructure Program (VIP) to support large-scale new transportation infrastructure projects and substantially upgrade the transportation network;
- USD 30 billion to advance innovative transportation development;
- USD 40 billion for airport improvements;
- USD 25 billion for resilient community development;
- Plus USD 20 billion in innovative financing instruments.
