The construction industry globally is being increasingly affected by the Covid-19 strain of the coronavirus, but projects are still taking place in the vast majority of countries around the world, although that may change.
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Globally Construction sees growing impact of Coronavirus
Equipment rental companies in Europe - particularly in Italy and France - are starting to face problems with equipment left on sites that have been closed.
One US rental business said that it had started to see some short term suspensions of projects, for a week or two, and that it anticipated projects slowing down rather than closing completely.
Construction continues throughout most of the US, but not in Boston, Massachusetts, the first major city to suspend work due to concerns about the coronavirus outbreak.
According to a report from NBCBoston.com, Boston Mayor Marty Walsh has ordered the suspension of all construction work in the city, effective Tuesday, 17 March. It is expected to last at least 14 days. “We want to make sure those workers are safe,” Walsh was quoted as saying.
He said there are tens of thousands of construction projects going on in the city, adding, “We’re in the middle of a boom right now…Construction is at the core of our economy here in Boston.” However, he went onto say that, “The Coronavirus is one of the greatest public health challenges that our city has ever faced.”
New Rochelle, New York, a suburb of New York City, is currently the only other place where a suspension of construction is taking place. Authorities there have limited movement among citizens as a measure of caution against the spread of the virus.
In the UK, the Civil Engineering Contractors Association and Build UK released a joint statement saying that the situation had esculated and that construction would be among the industries, “dramatically and severely affected.” The statement added, “Whilst the priority last week was to keep business critical construction projects open and operational wherever possible, that is likely to change in the weeks ahead.
“If the government decides to put the country into ‘lockdown’ and restrict the movement of British citizens, decisions will be taken out of the hands of individual companies and sites may have to close.”
A spokesperson for Willmott Dixon, a UK construction and property services company, said, “We are preparing our people for flexible working, both on site and at home, and ensuring we continue to operate as an effective business while also supporting supply chain members.”
He added that CEO Rick Willmott was determined to ensure latest government guidance was applied throughout the company via regular email updates. Actions, he said, include the cancellation of all non-business critical events and gatherings of staff, and video conferencing to be used where possible, rather than face-to-face meetings.
Elsewhere in Europe, the Italian contractors’ association, Associazione Nazionale Costruttori Edili (ANCE), has asked the Italian Government to suspend all on-going worksites as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Riccardo Viaggi, secretary-general of the European Construction Equipment manufacturers association CECE, said, “I personally believe that construction sites will be heavily impacted, most of all because distancing and other precautions are very difficult to implement on sites where interactions and cooperation between people is regular and fundamentally important.
“This is the reason why I have heard the call by contractors (ANCE) in the hardest hit country (for now – Italy) to close down sites by decree in order for construction activities to be included in the mitigating measures, such as stopping the clock on delivery times and ensuring employment and wage protection for workers.”
This article was first published here
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