Overseas orders received by Japanese construction companies, which had declined due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, have made a V-shaped recovery. The Overseas Construction Association of Japan has announced a list of overseas construction orders received by its 51 member companies in FY2021. The figure was up 60.2% from the previous year to 1.7855 trillion yen. In countries and regions where economic and social activities are recovering, private-sector construction projects undertaken by local subsidiaries of member companies were robust. Compared to the record high of 2 trillion yen recorded in FY 2019, the value of private-sector construction was 87% higher.

With the rising cost of materials and equipment, the war in Ukraine, and other uncertainties, however, the overseas business is expected to remain unpredictable in the future. Orders received in each of the eight regions were: Asia, 984.6 billion yen (up 52.5% from the previous year), North America, 502.1 billion yen (up 115.3%), Oceania, 142 billion yen (up 72%), Eastern Europe: 90.3 billion yen (up 18.8%), Europe: 20.2 billion yen (up 9.1%), Africa, 19.8 billion yen (down 60.6%), Central and South America, 14.5 billion yen (up 64.7%), Middle East and North Africa: 12.0 billion yen (up 66.2%). The number of projects rose sharply from the previous year, mainly in developed countries that are recovering quickly from the pandemic. (2022/05/26)