Construction 2020

China's building materials sector saw positive growth in the first three quarters, according to the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT).

The sector's value-added output gained 0.7 percent year-on-year during the period, reversing the previous downward trend, the MIIT said.

In September alone, the value-added output jumped 8.9 percent year-on-year, expanding by 2.4 percentage points from the growth rate a year ago, MIIT data showed.

Prices of building materials rose 0.05 percent year-on-year in the first three quarters, with cement prices down 3.3 percent and that of plate glass up 6.9 percent.

The sector's profits during the period edged down 0.9 percent year-on-year, almost returning to the same period last year.

In September alone, the total profits of the sector surged 16.4 percent year-on-year, up 5.4 percent from the previous month.

China is speeding up construction on major infrastructure projects to mitigate the economic impact of the novel coronavirus epidemic. In the first quarter of 2020, the gross output value of construction reached 3.59 trillion yuan($514.33 billion).

The construction on 89.1 percent of 11,000 key projects (those in hard-hit Hubei Province are not included) had been restarted as of March 20, according to National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC). In breakdown, 97.8 percent of the 533 key transportation projects supervised by the NDRC have been under construction, with all the major railway projects resuming operation.

The construction on some 97 percent of major highway and waterway projects, 87 percent of airport projects, and 86 percent of water conservancy projects also resumed. The officials pledged efforts to speed up the resumption of key projects by solving the problems of labor shortage, transportation and supply of raw materials with accurate measures.