Infrastructure developments drove the construction sector in April

The general consensus in the domestic construction industry forums is that fixed-track developments will take centre stage in the coming period, as indicated by the launch of the latest phase of the Buda Interconnection Project. At the same time, according to the latest data from the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH), the modest growth in the sector seen in April this year was underpinned by road and rail developments.

The institution’s website states that the sector grew by 2.6 per cent in April compared with the same month last year: meanwhile, road and rail development projects saw exceptional growth of 47.6 per cent.

According to the Hungarian Central Statistical Office (KSH) website, in April 2026 the volume of construction output exceeded the figure for the same month a year earlier by 2.6%, based on both unadjusted and working-day-adjusted data. Among the main construction categories, output in the construction of buildings was 6.2% lower, whilst that of other structures was 13.9% higher. Based on seasonally and working-day adjusted indices, construction output was 6.9% higher than in March 2026.

Overall, in the first four months of 2026, the volume of construction output was 2.2% lower than in the same period of the previous year.

Infrastructure developments contributed nearly 30 percentage points to the sector’s performance

In April 2026, output in the two main categories of structures showed contrasting trends compared with the same month of the previous year: output of buildings fell by 6.2%, whilst output of other structures rose by 13.9%.

Among the construction sectors, the construction of buildings was 11.6% lower, the construction of other structures was 19.2TP4320T lower, whilst the output of specialised construction—the sector with the greatest weight—was 4.4% higher than a year earlier. The expansion in the construction of other structures was driven by a 47.6% increase in volume in the road and railway construction sub-sector, contributing nearly 30 percentage points to the sector’s performance.

Contract data also show signs of stagnation

The volume of new contracts awarded fell by 4.0% compared with the same period last year; within this, contracts for the construction of buildings fell by 9.3%, whilst those for the construction of other structures rose by 1.1%.

The value of construction companies’ contract backlog at the end of April was 5.4% higher than in April 2025, of which contracts for the construction of buildings were 4.5% lower, whilst those for other structures were 9.8% higher.