Affected by low purchasing power of the majority of Venezuelans and the lack of investment from both private companies and the State, in Táchira State (Western Venezuela) the construction sector is at standstill, no development whatsoever can be seen in the short or medium term.
By Luz Dary Depablos / Correspondent lapatilla.com
The stoppage of the construction industry in this Andean state reaches 98.3%, and this situation has not changed in the last 10 years, according to Gerardo Gamboa, President of the Táchira Chamber of Construction.
Gamboa explained that although the regional government is carrying out some repairs on the main roads and has reactivated the tolls, these actions do not represent a significant improvement in investment in the sector, that is, “it has not contributed at all to the GDP index, to the construction index,” he said.
“There is no type of new undergoing development or is being planned. The National Government is finishing the (housing) developments that it planned long ago through the “Great Housing Mission” that have been paralyzed and are now being concluded, using the labor by the same beneficiaries. The same families who will be the beneficiaries of these developments are the ones who are collaborating in the completion of these housing units,” said Gamboa.
Likewise, he stated that there is no capacity to save, which is why it is difficult for Venezuelans to opt for a home through a mortgage, as was the usual case in the past.
“Banks do not have development capacity”, so in his opinion, foreign investment is required to reactivate the sector.
However, he stated that those who are currently engaged in this sector do not dare to invest due to the losses that this would represent. “At the prices that the properties are being sold at, the entire investment cannot be recovered. Prices oscillate between 30% and 35% of what they were 10 years ago.”
He explained that the commercialization of real estate that would be registered is a secondary market that is mobilized with money sent by Venezuelan migrants in other countries who try to improve the quality of life of their relatives in Venezuela, “but it is a small market, they are not demanding new housing units, what is being done is changing hands.”
Despite the fact that the new collective contract for construction workers was recently signed, after eight years of waiting, Gerardo Gamboa considers that although it is an important salary recovery, it is still insufficient.