Builders: Around 30% of this year's new construction sites are suspended

The real estate crisis has led to works being suspended in 30% of the housing construction sites which started operating this year, both in Bucharest and in leading provincial cities, such as Cluj, Timisoara, Brasov and Constanta, with over 50,000 workers to be made redundant, according to the Romanian Contractors' Association (ARACO). "Increasingly more builders are announcing temporary layoffs due to the suspension of activity in the construction sector. This is a chain reaction to the toughening of lending conditions, which blocked apartment sales, with developers being left without funding and suspending construction works as a result. According to our estimates, around 30% of the construction sites in Bucharest are currently closed," said Laurentiu Plosceanu, president of ARACO. Projects where works have been suspended include Sunset Residence in Bucharest (developed by Hungarian-based Ablon), Central in Constanta (by Norwegian company RomReal) and Quadra 2 in Bucharest (by Conarg Real Estate).