Global Scans · Construction · Weekly Summary

WHAT'S NEXT?: 65 per cent of global construction growth for the next decade will happen in emerging markets. Smart cities, sustainable construction, greater urbanization and pre-fabricated buildings will all play their part in future construction growth.

• [New] Construction remains the highest-risk sector for insolvency in Australia. Blaze Business & Legal
• [New] China Mobile will join hands with global industry partners to accelerate the construction of global communication networks, computing networks, and intelligent networks. WebWire
• [New] Every £1 billion spent on construction generates approximately 250,000 to 350,000 tonnes of CO2e, before accounting for debris clearance and supply-chain disruption. Climate Home News
• [New] Artemis II is meant to be the first in a years-long series of crewed deep-space missions that, if successful, will realize the construction of a multibillion-dollar moon base at the lunar south pole sometime in the 2030s. Scientific American
• [New] Small modular nuclear reactors are frequently discussed, but none is likely to be operating at commercial scale before 2030, and conventional nuclear plants face long regulatory and construction timelines. European Council on Foreign Relations
• [New] ScottishPower has secured £600 million for a subsea interconnector that will transfer Scotland's renewable wind energy to English demand centers by 2034, reinforcing a resilient grid crucial for green construction and eco-friendly construction projects. Whole Life Carbon
• [New] Construction of humanity's new home away from Earth could begin as soon as 2027. Live Science
• [New] An anticipated slowdown in new construction in 2026 will help shrink the gap between supply and demand. / USA CNR Magazine
• [New] Singapore's Green Building Masterplan targets 80% of buildings to be green-certified by 2030. ConstructionPlacements
• [New] The IEA's Breakthrough Agenda Report 2025 calls for all new and retrofitted buildings to be zero-carbon-ready by 2030. ConstructionPlacements
• [New] The decline, which caught Wall Street analysts off-guard, brought the seasonally adjusted annual rate of construction spending to $2,190.4 billion - a sharp reversal from the modest 0.1% growth many had predicted. / USA The Chronicle-Journal
• [New] Asia Pacific is expected to account for about 50% of global construction output by 2030, with China alone representing roughly 20% of worldwide construction investment, creating sizeable pull for low-carbon insulation materials. Persistence Market Research
• [New] Musk envisions Optimus bots aiding construction and operations, accelerating timelines despite historical delays in projects like AI5 and AI6 chips. remio
• [New] Twenty-three electricity transmission projects valued at USD 1.21 billion are planned, including the construction of 1,350 kilometers of transmission lines and new substations, which will bolster the national electricity network. ALN | Africa Legal Network
• [New] After 2026, drones will probably be used even more in construction. Remote Estimation
• [New] Prioritising reduction and reuse could cut construction emissions by 38% by 2050. Edie
• [New] Nonresidential construction activity will pick up speed in 2027. IndexBox Inc.
• [New] The world is entering what could be the greatest period of construction in all of human history, investing as much as $85 trillion in infrastructure over the next 15 years. BlackRock
• [New] Modular construction will play an increasingly central role in infrastructure development by 2026. Core Insights
• As governments and private developers seek faster, more efficient, and environmentally sustainable building methods, modular construction is expected to play a major role in infrastructure development by 2026. Core Insights
• Higher electricity use from space cooling, data centers and heat pumps make up almost half of the growth in the buildings sector worldwide out to 2030. IEA

Last updated: 08 April 2026