Bolivia. In 2015, companies engaged in the construction sector decreased 23.29% compared to 2014 due, above all, to the economic contraction, the lack of capacity of the firms to face some projects and the change of business, among others.
The companies registered in the construction activity totaled 3,830 in 2015, 23.29% less than what was registered in 2014, when they reached 4,993, according to official information provided by the Foundation for Business Development (Fundempresa) and released by the local newspaper La Razón. In 2014, the downward trend in the number of firms destined for this sector began compared to 2013, going from 5,587 to 4,993, which is a fall of 10.63%.
The president of the Bolivian Chamber of Construction (Caboco), Christian Eduardo, said that the reduction in the number of firms dedicated to the sector "is not significant." However, he explained that the fall is related to the lack of capacity that companies must have to carry out large-scale public works. He said that the decline is also due to the fact that entrepreneurs realized that the sector is not such a "fruitful business" because of its high investment. Eduardo said that the contraction of the economy generated by the fall in oil and mineral prices has also had an impact on the reduction of works for the infrastructure sector.
Economic analyst Jimmy Osorio pointed out that at the time there was an exponential growth of construction companies due to the expansion of the economy and because a good part of the state investment was destined to the infrastructure sector.
Osorio pointed out that due to the economic contraction registered from 2014 until today – caused by the fall in the price of raw materials – many companies were closed because they were not sustainable. "I do not believe that there has been a decrease in the number of construction companies, but that companies with a lot of seniority in the country have financial, tax or judicial process problems so they are closing the firms," said the president of the Society of Engineers of Bolivia (SIB), Marco Antonio Fuentes. The executive mentioned that after the closure of the firms, entrepreneurs open new companies.
