Construction Predictions 2022

Predictions:

#1: Building cybersecurity in the Construction Industry

Construction 4.0 is transforming the industry landscape in an unpredictable way. Artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced analytics (AA) are enabling new efficiency and creating new risk management paths.

Cyber-physical systems should enhance the delivery and management of connected construction facilities for both greenfield and brownfield projects. Digital security will be considered essential to avoid disruption and raise resilience.

#2: Standarization and "industrialization" of construction methods in building construction

Construction margins are under pressure worldwide due to shortages in skilled labor, (material) supply chain, low entry barriers and a shortfall in sector productivity growth, while climate goals increasingly challenge traditional construction methods and materialization (Net Zero Challenge). In the search for increased efficiency and predictability, control over supply chains, better margins and a workaround for labor shortages, companies are accelerating innovation and digitization in order to industrialize construction methods.

#3: Infrastructure Real Estate Investment Trust

Infrastructure construction projects mainly involve transportation, water and power supply networks, communications facilities, ecological and environmental protection, and municipal facilities. In recent years, infrastructure has become a way for countries to promote economic growth and secure employment due to its "multiplier effect", which can drive total social demand that is several times the size of infrastructure investments. Since 2020, global economic growth has slowed as the COVID-19 pandemic has taken hold, and major economies have sought to stimulate economic growth through infrastructure construction. Infrastructure REITs could be a means of fostering the deployment of capital in the Infrastructure sector.

#4: ESG Trends in Construction

Construction firms are embedding Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) principles into their planning and operations, adopting a range of approaches with varying degrees of success. This article sets out three observations about how ESG will be adopted and evolve in the construction industry, and how this could improve the impact of the industry on the environment, community, and workforce.

#5: Digital Trends

Traditionally, digital solution adoption has been a challenge for the industry where a ‘build once’ approach does not support investment in non-traditional, high-cost solutions. However, with Industry 4.0 solutions such as blockchain, digital twin, and virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) becoming more accessible, affordable, and widespread throughout the supply chain, and more agile practices becoming more common place, it is no longer a question of ‘if’, but ‘when’ and ‘how’ firms invest and implement digital ways of working.

#6: Future of Taxation in Construction

The international tax landscape has evolved in the last decade and is expected to change further in the near future. A key driver of transformation in the international tax system is the political agreement reached by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD)/ G20 Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS) on 1. how taxation rights on income should be allocated among jurisdictions (Pillar One), and 2. how much income should be taxed. (Pillar Two)1. Agreed measures, which should apply from 2023, and are expected to transform the international tax system.

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