Construction businesses have been undergoing difficult times. (Photo: laodong.vn)

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) - Domestic construction companies willcontinue to face difficulties in the second quarter of this year with capitalshortage top of their problems, a report has revealed.

Up to 42.2% of surveyed firms said they met more difficulties inQ1; 41.5% said their business operation were stable and 16.3% experiencedbetter business in Q1, according to a General Statistics Office report.

In Q2, 27.1% anticipated their business operation would be moredifficult; 40.7% expected stable business and 33.2% foresaw better businessperformance compared to Q1.

Amid the current difficult context, 46.4% of enterprises called oncapital support such as preferential loans, more convenient and faster loanprocedures, and reduced lending interest rates.

Meanwhile, 44.3% suggested assistance in raw materials such asensuring supply and stabilising raw material prices; 38.3% expected thatbidding information would be more open and transparent; and 32.9% emphasisedthe importance of speeding up administrative reforms.

A Vietnam Report survey also showed that 55.6% of constructionenterprises encountered difficulties in terms of working capital. Bank credithad been expanded, and interest rates had decreased, but construction firms,especially small and medium-sized, still found difficulty in accessing loans astheir financial conditions failed to meet commercial banks' requirements.

♐ Experts said that to ease the difficulties of the constructionindustry, it was necessary to solve some main problems such as reducing costs,improving the competitiveness of businesses and perfecting investment and businessenvironment

Creating the favourable conditions for the firms to get bank loansand facilitating their market access should be also included, they said.

The nation's construction industry faced considerable challengesin 2023. Rising material prices, higher debt taken by builders, and dampeneddemand during the pandemic had all resulted in the downfall of hundreds ofconstruction firms in the Vietnamese market in recent quarters.

🍷 To spur economic growth and development in the country, theGovernment had been increasingly investing in transport infrastructure. Severalprojects were completed in the second half of 2023, with many more planned tobe finished over the next 2-3 years. These projects were expected to keepsupporting the recovery of the struggling industry in Vietnam over the shortto medium term./.