Digitalisation, AI and sustainability in the future of the construction industry – this was the topic of the Future of Construction 2025 conference.

On 11 November 2025, the Future of Construction conference was held at the Radisson Blu Béke Hotel in Budapest. Organised by Portfolio Csoport, the event is the autumn networking and business summit for the domestic construction industry community. As previously reported in we wrote about it, our newspaper participated in the event as a media partner. The aim of the event was to provide participants with practical, adaptable knowledge that will help their companies grow and become more competitive.

The programme focused on digitalisation, innovation and sustainability. The sections presented practical solutions, the latest technological trends and specific project examples.

Among the key topics were the Otthon Start programme, the presentation of efficient housing construction processes, as well as prefabrication, BIM systems, big data and the application of artificial intelligence in the construction industry. The professional presentations also covered the ConTech, PropTech, GreenTech and HR-Tech solutions, as well as the role of green compliance and robotisation in future construction projects.

The strategic importance of the construction industry – Opening lecture by Regő Lánszki

Gergely Ditróy, Business Development Director at Portfolio welcomed the attendees, followed by the first speaker of the conference, Regő Lánszki, Chief Architect and Építési és Közlekedési Minisztérium State Secretary for Architecture, who explained that the construction industry in Hungary accounts for 7 per cent of GDP. However, together with related sectors, this figure rises to 13 per cent, which is close to the tourism services sector, which leads the way in terms of GDP share.

„It is therefore very important that whatever we do in terms of regulating the construction industry, whether in the field of digitalisation, has a very serious impact.”

- he added.

The ministry is trying to encourage greater use of domestic building materials through regulation, thereby reducing exposure to imports, but noted that there are often factors beyond the control of regulators that can influence building material prices from one day to the next.

He also touched upon residential construction, stating that such projects – without state investments – account for 30-35 per cent of the construction sector, which shows that residential construction is currently one of the key factors in the construction industry.

„Digitalisation is a marathon, not a sprint” – practical examples from companies

„Digitalisation and efficiency in the construction industry is a marathon, not a sprint.” This was stated by Zoltán Tóth, STRABAG's representative responsible for digitalisation and innovation in South-Eastern Europe in his presentation.

He informed us that he is endeavouring to steer the company in a digital direction with a STRABAG csoport-level development centre, international expert networks and lean projects. We will soon be reporting in detail on what this means in practice in a separate article.

The KÉSZ Csoport BIM manager, Csillag Boglárka identified four main sources of cost overruns in construction projects in her presentation. These can be technical (e.g. design changes), organisational (subcontractor delays, rescheduling), administrative/documentation (incorrect or late approvals) or communication problems (e.g. misinformation).

Unlike traditional methods based on e-mail, Excel and paper, the digitised project management system used at KÉSZ is based on a shared data environment, or CDE, which significantly reduces delays and additional costs.

The BIM and AI go hand in hand

The following speakers demonstrated through practical examples how the BIM can be used in bridge construction. Ádám Balogh, the FŐMTERV design engineer at presented the design of the new pedestrian and bicycle bridge being built in Venice, spanning the M7 motorway and the BIM model, while Mihály Szabados, the Speciálterv steel structure chief engineer presented the Duna Aszfalt Zrt. construction of the Mohács Danube Bridge model.

According to András Kocsis, President of the BIM College of the Hungarian Chamber of Engineers and Head of Business Development at bim.GROUP Kft., believes that the volume of data will be crucial in terms of digitalisation and AI use, as large data banks may require the leasing and use of server farms, making energy consumption a key issue.

The role of AI in the construction industry

AI alert! – The potential of AI in construction, implementation and management during a panel discussion Miklós Csanády, director of Óbuda Group director, effective AI tools learn, and the more data they receive, the more effective they become.

Your company uses various AI tools, including Chat GPT, to filter out errors in contracts and descriptions, for example, or to analyse quotations. With BIM, they can efficiently perform tasks that they could not have imagined before, and they can manage smaller projects as well as larger ones.