China State Construction’s new contracts leap by a third after end to lockdowns

China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCEC) recorded a 27.3% year-on-year jump in new construction contracts, following an end to China’s controversial zero covid policy.

CSCEC has started construction on the Tongshan Damushan Pumped Storage Power station in Hubei province, China (Image: CSCEC)

China ended its strict, three-year long policy of containing Covid-19 in December 2022. Now a trading update from CSCEC shows a strong year-on-year improvement in orders for the January-February 2023 period.

The construction giant did not offer a reason for the improvement in performance but figures have increased across the board.

The total value of newly signed construction contracts during the period was CNY 567.6 billion (US$82.6 billion), according to CSCEC.

Of that figure, CNY 562.3 billion (US$81.8 billion) of its orders are in domestic construction contracts, with CNY 5.3 billion (US$770 million) coming from overseas.

Orders for new infrastructure projects increased the fastest, with a 55.1% year-on-year increase in new contracts for the period, totalling CNY 138.9 billion (US$20.2 billion).

CSCEC’s figures also suggested a recovery, albeit less rapid, in China’s troubled housing market, with housing contracts up 20.4% totalling 426.8 billion CNY (US$62.1 billion).

It recorded a more modest 3.7% increase to 1.98 billion CNY in new orders for its survey and design services arm.

Meanwhile, sales contracts in its real estate division rose 71.1% to 53.5 billion CNY (US7.8 billion) and the company boasts a land bank of 88.3 million sq m.

The news came as CSCEC started construction on a major new infrastructure project in Hubei province – the construction of the Tongshan Damushan Pumped Storage Power Station.

The 100 billion CNY (US$14.6 billion) project in Tongshan County, Xianning City has a designed installed capacity of 1,400MW, an annual power generation capacity of 1.56 kWh. Construction is set to last 76 months.

CSCEC claims the plant would save 530,000 tonnes of coal consumption and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1.4 million tonnes annually.