CONSTRUCTION

The construction sector carries significant weight within the Andorran economy, compared to other developed countries. It accounts for 15.9% of workers and 7.5% of companies.

The business structure of the sector is characterised by an average company size that is higher than that of the economy taken as a whole. Despite all this, and in the absence of large construction groups, small companies are still in the majority. Accordingly, almost half of the companies have 5 workers or more, while only 10.7% have a workforce of more than 25 employees.

Building materials represent a small part of commercial exchanges in Andorra, representing 5.1% of imports and 3.4% of total exports.

The total surface area authorised for building was 111,463 sq. m. in 2006, distributed between apartments (77%), houses (5%) and other buildings (18%). This figure contrasts with the all-time record of more than 600,000 sq. m. achieved in 2004, a drop which can be explained by the introduction of a moratorium on building permission licences in all the Andorran parishes in the middle of 2003. The moratorium was lifted between August 2006 and February 2008, as part of a measure, which saw the coming into force of the Parish Town Planning Regulations (POUP) approved by the different local administrations.