Sweden calls for productivity boost in construction sector

According to a new report by the Swedish innovation agency Innovationsföretagen, declining productivity in the construction industry is significantly eroding the impact of infrastructure investments. If the sector operated as efficiently as in the 1990s, 225 billion kronor could be saved on transportation infrastructure over the next 12 years.

“Infrastructure projects are continuously becoming more expensive and taking longer. It’s not about needing more resources, but getting better value for money,” says Richard Österberg, Head of Analysis at Innovationsföretagen.

Three Main Challenges Identified

The report, authored by Stockholm School of Economics Ph.D. economist Fredrik Bergström, identifies three main problems:

• Technical consultants’ expertise is not utilized strategically
• Projects lack an overall perspective
• Procurement focuses too much on lowest price instead of societal benefit

Ten-Point Program to Boost Efficiency

The report presents a ten-point improvement program, including strengthening trust between clients and consultants, leveraging international expertise, and more balanced risk-sharing. Norway’s practices are highlighted as an example of better ways of working.

The translation was written by an AI system, though the original text was authored by a human. Read the original article here