The Iranian construction industry is expected to record marginal growth of 0.5 per cent in real terms in 2023, following an annual decline of 2.5 per cent in 2022, according to GlobalData.

The recovery in the industry is supported by public and private investments in the manufacturing, energy and infrastructure projects.

According to the Statistical Centre of Iran (SCI), the construction industry’s value add rose by 4.7 per cent year on year (YoY) in the second quarter of 2023, preceded by Y-o-Y decline of 3.7 per cent in the first quarter of 2023 and 4.6 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022.

The Iran Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture (ICCIMA) is planning to boost investment in the construction industry by encouraging private investors to participate in the implementation of major infrastructure projects.

According to the Central Bank of Iran (CBI), in the first seven months of Iranian calendar year (March 21, 2023-October 22, 2023) a total of IRR28.47 quadrillion ($56bn) bank loans were provided to different economic sectors, an increase of 23.9 per cent compared to the same period of 2022.

Over the remainder of the forecast period, the construction industry’s output is expected to record an annual average growth of 3.4 per cent, between 2024 and 2027, supported by the increase in exports, and investment in the petrochemical industry, energy, and housing sectors. In November 2023, Iran’s National Petrochemical Company (NPC) announced its plans to invest IRR241.9 trillion ($4.2bn) to implement domestic projects in the petrochemical industry in the country by 2025. The NPC aims to reach a production capacity of 200 million tons of petrochemical by 2033 and it also identified 100 projects worth IRR4 quadrillion ($70bn) to be developed across the country.