Page 47 - CE Outlook Regions 2024

3.4.5 Construction
The country’s construction output showed signs of reviving (+5% y/y in October) towards the end of 2023 as the important sector of building construction returned to growth (+1.2% y/y in October) after seven months of decline. Civil engineering, including the construction of roads and motorways, has been an important positive driver for much of 2023 (+17.7% y/y in October), coming off a seven-month stretch of consecutive growth.
Housing construction slowed in the 3Q in terms of the number of started sites and pace of completion. The total 4,232 of approved dwellings sites was the lowest since Q1 2022, while the number of completed dwellings decreased by 22% y/y in 3Q.
3.4.6 Major Sectors
The $14.9bn (€13.61bn) acquisition of the American U.S. Steel by Japanese Nippon Steel, announced in December, will be closely watched in Slovakia in 2024 as the U.S. Steel plant near eastern Slovakia’s Kosice has been the subject of numerous takeover rumours. Slovak media continue to speculate that the plant, which is the country's largest polluter and is eligible for EU funding under the country's decarbonisation plans, could yet change ownership under Nippon.
Chinese Gotion High Tech bought 25% of Slovakia’s InoBat battery producer in the late summer and the GIB JV of the two companies later signed a memorandum with the new cabinet of Robert Fico to develop a gigafactory near Surany. According to the memorandum, GIB should begin work on the Surany site in 2024.
Volvo Cars wants to double the manufacturing capacity of its planned site in the Kosice district to a total of 500,000 vehicles a year. Slovakia, which is the largest car producer per capita worldwide, has so far struggled to pick up domestic sales of electric vehicles. It still is only a 2.5% share in the overall car sales despite the 72% increase y/y in January - October 2023.
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