Public works offset 23.2% drop in private construction in Q4 2025

Q4 construction value stood at $73.2b as public sector growth partly offsets private sector drop.

Hong Kong’s construction sector saw private construction decline sharply in the fourth quarter of 2025 (Q4 2025), with private sector sites falling 23.2% nominally to $16.6b, whilst public sector projects rose 2.9% nominally to $34.3b, supporting overall output.

Total gross value of construction works (GVCW) performed by main contractors fell 6.1% nominally to $73.2b, according to provisional results released by the Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) on 12 March.

After adjusting for price changes, GVCW decreased 8.3% in real terms compared with the same period a year earlier. Real-term figures are derived by deflating nominal values to the 2000-price level.

Works at locations other than construction sites, including minor new construction, repair and maintenance, and electrical installation, fell 3.0% nominally and 2.1% in real terms to $22.2b.

By major end-use group, residential building projects at construction sites totalled $21.4b, down 3.5% nominally, whilst transport projects fell 19.3% nominally to $8.7b in Q4.

On a seasonally adjusted quarter-to-quarter basis, total GVCW declined 4.5% nominally and 3.1% in real terms compared with Q3 2025.

For the full year 2025, the total GVCW performed by main contractors decreased 1.4% nominally to $286.6b and 4.5% in real terms compared with 2024.

Private sector sites fell 16.9% nominally to $70.7b, whilst public sector projects increased 10.2% nominally to $130.1b. Output at locations other than construction sites decreased 1.9% nominally to $85.7b.

Residential building projects remained the largest contributor to construction site output, totalling $84.9b in 2025, up 1.2% nominally, whilst transport projects fell 21.8% nominally to $33.3b.

The C&SD noted that the GVCW covers only projects where companies act as main contractors, although sub-contractors’ work is included in the total for the main contractor they serve.

The construction sector classification follows the Hong Kong Standard Industrial Classification Version 2.0.