TOP COUNTRIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY

1. VINCI, France
The history of the VINCI Group, heir to hundreds of companies gradually assembled in a
convoluted process, go back to the 19th century. In 1899, two engineers from Polytechnique,
an elite French engineering school, Alexandre Giros, and Louis Loucheur, founded Société
Générale d’Entreprises (SGE), which became VINCI in 2000 following its merger with the
GTM Group.

2. Grupo ACS, Spain – Construction companies in the world

ACS, Actividades de Construcción y Servicios, S.A. is a Spanish company dedicated to civil
and engineering construction, all types of services and telecommunications. It is one of the
leading construction companies in the world, with projects in many countries around the
world.

3. Bechtel,  San Francisco, California, United States – Top Construction Companies in

the World
Bechtel Corporation is an engineering, procurement, construction, and project management
company. It is the largest construction company in the United States and the 8th-largest
privately owned American company in 2017. On of the top construction companies in the
world. Its headquarters are in the South of Market, San Francisco.

4. Hochtief, Germany
Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft is a German construction company based in Essen, North Rhine-
Westphalia, Germany.

5. Skanska, Sweden
Skanska AB is a multinational construction and development company based in Sweden.
Skanska is the fifth largest construction company in the world according to the Construction
Global magazine.
6. Balfour Beatty, United Kingdom
Balfour Beatty plc is an English multinational infrastructure group with capabilities in
construction services, support services, and infrastructure investments. A constituent of the
FTSE 250 Index, Balfour Beatty works across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the United
States, Canada, and South East Asia.

7. Bouygues Construction, France

As a responsible and committed leader in sustainable construction, Bouygues Construction
sees innovation as its primary source of added value: this is “shared innovation” that benefits
its customers while improving its productivity and the working conditions of its 47,350
employees. Bouygues Construction generated sales of €11.7 billion in 2017.

8. Kiewit Corporation,  Omaha, Nebraska, United States – Top Construction companies

in the world
Kiewit Corporation is an employee-owned Fortune 500 contractor based in Omaha, Nebraska.
Privately held, it is one of the largest contractors in the world.

9. Royal BAM Group, Netherlands

Koninklijke BAM Groep is a Dutch construction-services business with headquarters in
Bunnik, Netherlands.
10. Laing O’Rourke, United Kingdom

Laing O’Rourke is a multinational construction company headquartered in Dartford, England,

United Kingdom. It was founded in 1978 by Ray O’Rourke. It is the largest privately-owned
construction company in the United Kingdom.

In addition, Turkey, despite the ongoing recession in the global market and increasing risks,
was included in the list of “250 largest international contractors in the world” with 44
companies. Turkey rose to second place behind China with this number.

THE PAST AND FUTURE OF THE CONSTRUCTION SECTOR

PAST
Construction during primitive times consisted of mud huts and stone monoliths such as
Stonehenge. The tools of the trade included animal bones, copper plates, and axes.This
activity eventually lead to proto-cities — putting an end to pastoral life and paving the way to
society as we know it. Over time, humans refined their construction practices and started
building more permanent structures. Historians believe what we know as traditional
construction began to take shape in Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia. As humans abandoned
nomadic life, these societies built permanent shelters. The Egyptian Pyramids are some of the
first examples of large-scale, permanent structures. As the population grew and urbanization
took over, construction quickly became a staple of civilization. Although this type of
construction is a far cry from buildings we see today, this type of activity laid the foundation
for contemporary construction.

Newly emboldened by the First Industrial Revolution, America underwent a significant period
of advancement from 1870 until WWI during what is known as the Technological Revolution
or the Second Industrial Revolution. During this time, inventors improved manufacturing
processes and, thanks to the Bessemer Process, America began to mass-produce steel. The
availability of cheap steel ushered in construction projects we still depend on, such as large
bridges, railroads and skyscrapers. The first skyscraper — the Home Insurance building in
Chicago — was built in 1885 and stood at a mere 138 feet. By today’s standards, this building
wouldn’t even be tall enough to be classified as a skyscraper. Steel is a low-cost material still
used in the construction industry today. Steel is a non-combustible, recyclable, cheap material
that is impervious to termites. Thanks to the versatility and affordability of steel, the
construction industry achieved a new level of productivity in the 20th century.

THE FUTURE
5 – UNITED KINGDOM

Historically the United Kingdom (UK) hasn’t featured on lists like this. But with significant
housing and infrastructure deficits set to be addressed over the next decade – and with the
recent approval of several mega-schemes – we have earned a place.

London’s USD $20BN Crossrail development is the largest project in Europe and the country
is set to expand Heathrow Airport, construct a high speed railway, redevelop large portions of
cities (such as the Nine Elms district in south-west London), and build a nuclear power station
at Hinckley. House building is set to be significant with 3.3 million homes being constructed
over the next 14 years.

Between now and 2030, the UK will spend a total of USD $6TN on construction works.

4 – INDONESIA

With USD $68BN being poured into major infrastructure projects by 2019 alone, Indonesia is
one of the fastest growing construction markets in Asia.

The Government announced a ‘tax amnesty’ in mid-2016 which is expected to see some USD
$304BN flow back into the country, boosting construction spending. A recent cut in interest
rates has made funding more affordable and this too has positively affected growth in the
country’s construction industry.
3 – INDIA

India is the fastest growing construction market on our list (expanding at almost twice the rate
of China’s) and is set to spend a whopping USD $13TN on building and infrastructure work
by 2030.

The country’s vast and rapidly expanding population is generating significant housing
demand. A staggering 31,000 homes need to be built every day, for the next 14 years, just to
keep up. That’s 170 million properties by 2030.

2 – UNITED STATES

Taking second place, the United States of America (US) is expected to spend a mind-bending
USD $30TN on construction work over the next 14 years.

The US construction industry took a significant hit in the last recession – particularly in the
house building sector – and is only now beginning to bounce back. With housing growth
expected to return to its pre-crash levels and major investment planned in the country’s
infrastructure over the next decade (particularly in the greater New York City area where
much of it is over 100 years old), the US comfortably earns a high ranking on our list.
1 – CHINA

Topping our list is China. Its vast construction industry is growing at an insatiable rate and
will add USD $2.1TN to global construction output by 2030.

The country is faced with an ageing population which could see a rise in the construction of
healthcare facilities or greater infrastructure capacity. The government’s “One Belt, One
Road” economic policy is driving co-operation and trade with its immediate neighbours in
Asia and is driving massive investment in infrastructure. The programme could spawn the
‘single largest construction project in human history’ in the next few years.

The top three countries on our list – China, the United States and India – will account for 57%
of all global growth in the construction and engineering markets by 2030, amounting to USD
£4.5TN. Those three nations account for over a third of the world’s population and economic
output.

It’s worth adding that the impacts of technology adoption, building information modelling
(BIM), innovation and globalisation (allowing skills to be easily transferred across the
industry worldwide) are all playing a significant part in the growth rate of these markets and
others down the list.
Other nations ranking within the top 10 include Japan, Canada and Mexico, along with the
Middle East region. Nigeria is set to become the world’s fifth most populous country by 2030,
growing its construction market by 160%.

EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES IN THE CONSTRUCTION

SECTOR

IN TURKEY
According to TurkStat labor force statistics, the unemployment rate in October fell by 1.5
percentage points compared to the same period of the previous year and was 10.3%, while the
labor force participation rate continued to increase and was 53.1%. The youth unemployment
rate is 19.3% and the non-agricultural unemployment rate is 12.3%. Employment free from
seasonal effects increased by 135 thousand people compared to the previous period and was
estimated at 28 million 622 thousand people. According to economic activity, the number of
employed people decreased by 13 thousand in the agricultural sector, 8 thousand in the
construction sector, 49 thousand in the Industrial Sector, 107 thousand in the service sector.
The lack of permanent improvement in labor market data in Turkey, which is the fastest
growing country in the world with a total growth rate of 7.4% as of the third quarter of 2017,
indicates that the phenomenon of non-employment growth is one of the most important
structural problems.

IN THE WORLD

The construction sector includes the construction of commercial, industrial, and residential
buildings and engineering projects like roads, bridges, and utility systems. Construction
includes both new construction and remodeling, additions, maintenance, and repairs.
Construction is one of the industries with the highest projections for new employment
opportunities. Positions vary, ranging from unskilled laborer and helper jobs to roles that
require extensive training, education, and skills.
Overall, the construction industry employed 7,505,000 workers in July 2019 according to
the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For 2018, the job titles with the highest number of employees
included:

 Carpenters – 611,070
 Construction Laborers – 849,570
 Construction Managers – 227,460
 Electricians – 503,660
 Operating Engineers and Other Equipment Operators – 245,320

REFERENCES:
https://www.thebalancecareers.com/construction-job-titles-2061492#:~:text=The
%20construction%20sector%20includes%20the,additions%2C%20maintenance%2C%20and
%20repairs.
https://constructible.trimble.com/construction-industry/a-very-brief-history-of-the-
construction-industry
https://www.theb1m.com/video/top-5-construction-markets-by-2030