Construma: home builders are particularly interested in the home renovation programme

The 42nd edition of the Construma international construction exhibition was officially opened on 4 April at Hungexpo in Budapest. The event, which attracts nearly 500 exhibitors, will again this year feature a wide range of players from the construction industry. The giant exhibition will be open until 10 April and will cover some 40,000 square metres.

At the opening of the event, Deputy Minister Nándor Csepreghy spoke on behalf of the Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium (ÉKM), followed by a professional conference. ÉVOSZ, as the professional patron of Construma, organised the event "Builders and builders' merchants for customers" in partnership with ÉKM and Hungexpo Zrt..

"There is a specialist, there is raw material, there is support and there is a solution to the construction industry's problems"

As ÉVOSZ stressed in its statement, despite market difficulties, building materials manufacturers and distributors are working to make construction and renovation attractive and relevant by expanding the range of products and services.

In his opening speech, Peter Kincses, President of the Media Section of ÉVOSZ pointed out that the event will bring together the most prominent players of the Hungarian building materials manufacturers and traders to discuss the most topical issues and challenges of the sector. He stressed that the participants are at the forefront of innovation and use the latest technologies, and are key to the development and competitiveness of the construction industry.

He specifically asked participants to take with them the key message that "there are professionals, there are materials, there is support and there are solutions to the construction industry's problems, but they need to be done and communicated intelligently."

New homes in new industrial centres

In a very difficult international competition and market environment, the ministry headed by János Lázár is representing the interests of the Hungarian construction industry players, even in the face of conflicts.The motto of the ministry remains the same: the work of Hungarian people should benefit Hungarians, Nándor Csepreghy stressed in his report on vg.hu.

The deputy minister of Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium also said that a new element could be added to the home ownership programme. He explained that new housing is needed in the location of new industrial investments, primarily due to the construction of the BYD electric car plant in Szeged and the BMW plant in Debrecen, which the government plans to help with a new interest subsidy element in the framework of the home creation programme.

Following this, Attila Gódi, Managing Director of Terrán Tetőcserép Gyártó Kft., member of the Board of the ÉVOSZ Hungarian Building Materials Manufacturers' Association, outlined a positive situation: construction products and materials of European quality are available in Hungary, the trade channel and the distribution structure are ready for the launch of the market. He said that prices are favourable and that both designers and contractors are well supported. Subsidies are available and the banking backing also offers financing at reasonable cost levels.

So the manufacturers are telling buyers: the time is right, spring 2024 is the right time, take a deep breath and start building and renovating.

Attila Gódi also spoke about sustainable architecture, which, according to him, is a major challenge for the construction industry. According to studies, buildings account for 60% of global energy use and 38% of total CO2 emissions. Among the green building ideas, he also mentioned "green operations", i.e. carbon neutral operations, and the preference for sustainable buildings.

Hungarian capacity for renovation

ÉVOSZ issued a detailed statement on the occasion of the conference, in which it recalled, among other things, that the domestic building materials trade is characterised by strong competition. Traders can ensure security of supply.

The professional organisation has made several proposals to the government, including the need to increase security of supply by increasing the supply of domestically produced construction materials and products, as a priority is to reduce the current 48% import exposure. For most construction products, individual investment and development programmes of medium and large enterprises deserve state support. In the large enterprise support programme, a long-term development support programme for the domestic production of building materials is proposed by ÉVOSZ.

As they say, the home renovation support programme is long-awaited by the industry: the domestically produced building products and design-build capacity needed for renovation are available.

The full programme of the conference is available here https://hungexpo.hu/events/construma/programok-2024/evosz-agazati-konferencia/.