South Africa Construction Market Size, Trends, and Forecasts by Sector - Commercial, Industrial, Infrastructure, Energy and Utilities, Institutional and Residential Market Analysis to 2029 (Q4 2025)

South Africa’s construction industry is expected to have fell by 4% in real terms in 2025, due to a decline in gross fixed capital formation, coupled with high construction costs, increased debt, and a downturn in the industrial sector resulting from a 30% tariff imposed by the US in August 2025. According to the Bureau for Economic Research, the average seasonally adjusted Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded a score of 47.2 during the first eleven months of 2025, a decrease from 48.9 in the same period of 2024. An index value above 50 indicates growth, while a value below 50 signifies a reduction in industrial activity. Furthermore, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that the average construction materials price index increased by 1% year-on-year (YoY) in the first ten months of 2025, following an annual growth of 6.1% in 2024. Additionally, inflation in the country reached 3.6% in October 2025, up from 3.4% in September 2025, marking the highest levels since September 2024.

The analyst projects the South African construction industry to record an average annual growth of 3.8% from 2027 to 2029, supported by investments in industrial, infrastructure, and energy projects, coupled with the government's goal to add 11.3GW of solar, 7.3GW of wind, 6GW of gas, and 5.2GW of nuclear power by 2030. The government unveiled its energy strategy in October 2025, which is valued at ZAR2.4 trillion ($127.5 billion) and aims to introduce 105GW of new energy capacity by 2039. Additionally, in October 2025, the European Commission (EC) announced a financial package amounting to ZAR245 billion ($13.1 billion) for the energy sector. Significant investments under this package includes ZAR177.6 billion ($9.5 billion) for green projects, such as hydrogen, solar, and wind initiatives, as well as ZAR26.5 billion ($1.4 billion) for infrastructure, green logistics, and transmission projects.

The Construction in South Africa - Key Trends and Opportunities to 2029 (Q4 2025) report provides detailed market analysis, information, and insights into the South Africa construction industry, including:

The South African construction industry's growth prospects by market, project type and construction activity
Critical insight into the impact of industry trends and issues, as well as an analysis of key risks and opportunities in the South African construction industry
Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, focusing on development stages and participants, in addition to listings of major projects in the pipeline.

Report Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in South Africa. It provides:

Historical (2020-2024) and forecast (2025-2029) valuations of the construction industry in South Africa, featuring details of key growth drivers.
Segmentation by sector (commercial, industrial, infrastructure, energy and utilities, institutional and residential) and by sub-sector
Analysis of the mega-project pipeline, including breakdowns by development stage across all sectors, and projected spending on projects in the existing pipeline.
Listings of major projects, in addition to details of leading contractors and consultants

Reasons to Buy

Identify and evaluate market opportunities using our standardized valuation and forecasting methodologies
Assess market growth potential at a micro-level with over 600 time-series data forecasts
Understand the latest industry and market trends
Formulate and validate business strategies using the analyst's critical and actionable insight
Assess business risks, including cost, regulatory and competitive pressures
Evaluate competitive risk and success factors

1 Executive Summary2 Construction Industry: At-a-Glance

3 Context

3.1 Economic Performance
3.2 Political Environment and Policy
3.3 Demographics
3.4 Risk Profile

4 Construction Outlook

4.1 All Construction

Outlook
Latest news and developments
Construction Projects Momentum Index

4.2 Commercial Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.3 Industrial Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.4 Infrastructure Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.5 Energy and Utilities Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.6 Institutional Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

4.7 Residential Construction

Outlook
Project analytics
Latest news and developments

5 Key Industry Participants

5.1 Contractors
5.2 Consultants

6 Construction Market Data

7 Appendix

7.1 What is this Report About?
7.2 Definitions
7.3 CRI Methodology

About the Analyst
Contact the Publisher

List of Tables

Table 1: Construction Industry Key Data
Table 2: South Africa, Key Economic Indicators
Table 3: South Africa, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 4: South Africa, Top Commercial Construction Projects by Value
Table 5: South Africa, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 6: South Africa, Top Industrial Construction Projects by Value
Table 7: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 8: South Africa, Top Infrastructure Construction Projects by Value
Table 9: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 10: South Africa, Top Energy and Utilities Construction Projects by Value
Table 11: South Africa, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 12: South Africa, Top Institutional Construction Projects by Value
Table 13: South Africa, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real % Change), 2020-29
Table 14: South Africa, Top Residential Construction Projects by Value
Table 15: South Africa, Key Contractors
Table 16: South Africa, Key Consultants
Table 17: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million)
Table 18: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Nominal, ZAR Million)
Table 19: the analyst Construction Market Definitions
Table 20: Risk Dimensions
Table 21: Ratings, Scores and Definitions

List of Figures

Figure 1: Sub-Saharan Africa, Construction Output (Real % Change), 2023-29
Figure 2: South Africa, Construction Output by Sector (Real % Change), 2023-25 and 2026-29
Figure 3: South Africa, Risk Summary
Figure 4: South Africa, Risk Regional Comparison
Figure 5: South Africa, Construction Output Value (Real, $ Million, 2022 Prices and Exchange Rate), 2020-29
Figure 6: South Africa, Construction Output Value, by Sector (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 7: South Africa, Construction Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 8: South Africa, Gross Fixed Capital Formation (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 9: South Africa, Employment in the Construction Industry (In Thousands)
Figure 10: South Africa, Total value of recorded building plans passed by larger municipalities, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
Figure 11: South Africa, Value of Buildings Reported as Completed in Larger Municipalities, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
Figure 12: South Africa, Construction Materials Price Index, Total Construction, December 2023=100
Figure 13: South Africa, Construction Projects Momentum Index
Figure 14: Sub-Saharan Africa, Construction Projects Momentum Index
Figure 15: South Africa, Commercial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 16: South Africa, Commercial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 17: South Africa, Total Value of Building Plans Passed for Office and Banking Space and Shopping Space, Current Prices (ZAR Million)
Figure 18: South Africa, Income from Accommodation and Food Services (ZAR Million, Current Prices)
Figure 19: South Africa, Total Retail and Wholesale Trade Sales (Constant 2019 Prices, ZAR Billion)
Figure 20: South Africa, Industrial Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 21: South Africa, Industrial Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 22: South Africa, Manufacturing Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 23: South Africa, Total Value of Industrial and Warehouse Space Plans Passed, Current Prices (ZAR Million)
Figure 24: South Africa, Volume Index of Manufacturing Production (2019=100)
Figure 25: South Africa, Absa Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), Business Activity Index and New Sales Orders Index, Seasonally Adjusted
Figure 26: South Africa, Total Merchandise Exports (ZAR Billion)
Figure 27: South Africa, Volume Index of Mining Production (2019=100) and Mineral Sales (Current Prices, ZAR Billion)
Figure 28: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 29: South Africa, Infrastructure Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 30: South Africa, Construction Materials Price Index, Civil Engineering Construction, December 2023=100
Figure 31: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 32: South Africa, Energy and Utilities Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 33: South Africa, Electricity, Gas and Water Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 34: South Africa, Electricity Production (GWh)
Figure 35: South Africa, Institutional Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 36: South Africa, Institutional Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 37: South Africa, Residential Construction Output by Project Type (Real, $ Million), 2020-29
Figure 38: South Africa, Residential Construction Projects Pipeline, Value by Stage ($ Million)
Figure 39: South Africa, Real Estate Value-add (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 40: South Africa, Gross Fixed Capital Formation Residential (ZAR Billion, Constant 2015 Prices)
Figure 41: South Africa, Total Value of Residential Building Plans Passed, 2019 Constant Prices (ZAR Million)
Figure 42: South Africa, Residential Property Price Index, December 2020=100
Figure 43: South Africa, Headquarters of Key Contractors (% of Total Project Pipeline)
Figure 44: South Africa, Headquarters of Key Consultants (% of Total Project Pipeline)

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Report Scope

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of the construction industry in South Africa. It provides:

Reasons to Buy

Table of Contents

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