Romania’s Construction Sector in 2025–2026: Record Volumes, Investment Opportunities and the Outlook for 2026–2027

Overview of Romania’s Construction Industry

Romania’s construction sector is one of the most dynamic in the European Union — contributing approximately 7% of GDP, employing hundreds of thousands of workers directly and indirectly, and functioning as the physical backbone of the country’s modernisation. The sector encompasses residential building, commercial and industrial construction, civil engineering and infrastructure, and energy projects — a breadth that makes it both a significant economic driver and a barometer of national investment activity.

Romania has over 80,000 registered construction companies, ranging from multinational EPC contractors delivering billion-euro motorway projects to small local firms building single-family homes. The market is fragmented at the lower end and increasingly consolidated at the top, where a handful of large domestic and international contractors compete for the major public infrastructure contracts that define the sector’s growth trajectory.

The sector’s recent performance has been exceptional. Construction output reached record levels in 2025, driven by a confluence of factors: massive EU-funded infrastructure investment (motorways, railways, metro), growing private-sector demand for logistics and industrial facilities, sustained residential construction in major cities, and the beginning of Romania’s energy transition investment cycle (solar, wind, grid modernisation). The question for 2026–2027 is whether this momentum can be sustained — and the answer depends primarily on the efficiency of EU fund absorption and the government’s fiscal capacity for co-financing.

Why Construction Reached Record Levels in 2025–2026

EU funding. Romania’s allocation under the 2021–2027 EU multiannual financial framework, combined with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR), represents tens of billions of euros designated for infrastructure, energy, healthcare, education, and digital transformation projects. The acceleration of absorption in 2024–2025 translated directly into construction activity — motorway sections started simultaneously, railway modernisation contracted, hospital construction launched.

Motorway and road construction. Romania has historically lagged behind CEE peers in motorway infrastructure. The government’s commitment to closing this gap — with projects like the Sibiu–Pitești motorway, the A7 Moldova motorway, and the Ploiești–Brașov motorway — has generated the largest road-construction programme in the country’s history.

Railway modernisation. EU-funded rail projects — including high-speed rail feasibility, mainline rehabilitation (Bucharest–Craiova, Bucharest–Constanța), and suburban rail development — are adding a new segment of infrastructure construction that barely existed five years ago.

Energy investment. Solar PV installations have surged, with Romania becoming one of the fastest-growing solar markets in the EU. Wind farm expansion, battery storage projects, grid modernisation, and nuclear energy investment (Cernavodă units 3 and 4) are generating large-scale energy construction demand.

Industrial and logistics. Private-sector investment in manufacturing facilities, logistics parks, and warehousing has been strong — driven by nearshoring, e-commerce fulfilment, and Romania’s growing role as an EU production and distribution hub.

Residential demand. Urban population growth, rising wages, mortgage availability, and the nZEB mandate for new buildings have sustained residential construction volumes in Bucharest, Cluj-Napoca, Timișoara, Iași, and other major cities.

Main Segments of the Romanian Construction Market

Largest Construction Projects in Romania

Regional Construction Hotspots

Construction Materials and Costs

COST CONTEXT: Romanian construction costs are approximately 40–60% of Western European levels for comparable building types. This cost advantage — combined with EU-standard building codes and nZEB requirements — makes Romania competitive for international development projects, nearshored manufacturing facilities, and EU-funded infrastructure.

Labour Market: The Sector’s Biggest Constraint

Romania’s construction sector faces a chronic and structural labour shortage. An estimated two to four million Romanians of working age have emigrated to Western Europe over the past two decades — many from the construction trades. The domestic workforce has shrunk while demand has surged, creating a gap that the sector has filled through three mechanisms: wage increases (construction wages have risen significantly, with skilled trades commanding premiums), recruitment of third-country nationals (tens of thousands of workers from Vietnam, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and other countries now work on Romanian construction sites under government-issued work permits), and — gradually — investment in mechanisation, prefabrication, and productivity-improving technologies.

The labour shortage is the single largest constraint on the sector’s growth. Projects that are fully funded and permitted can experience delays because contractors cannot recruit sufficient workers. For foreign companies considering entering Romania’s construction market, the ability to source and manage labour — either domestically or through international recruitment — is a critical competitive factor.

Investment Opportunities for Foreign Companies

EU Funding Programmes Supporting Construction

National Recovery and Resilience Plan (PNRR). Romania’s PNRR allocation — approximately €29.2 billion in grants and loans — funds healthcare infrastructure, education, transport, energy transition, and digital infrastructure. Construction is the primary delivery mechanism for the majority of PNRR investments.

EU Cohesion Funds (2021–2027). Regional development, urban regeneration, road and utility infrastructure, and environmental projects funded through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and the Cohesion Fund.

Connecting Europe Facility (CEF). Trans-European transport network (TEN-T) projects — motorways, railways, and port infrastructure connecting Romania to the EU’s core network.

Public procurement tenders. Foreign companies registered in Romania (through SRL or branch) can participate in Romanian public procurement tenders for EU-funded projects. Tenders are published on SEAP (Romania’s electronic public procurement system) and on TED (the EU’s tenders database). The project pipeline is substantial — motorway lots, railway sections, hospital construction, energy projects — with individual contract values ranging from tens of millions to hundreds of millions of euros.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Building permits (autorizație de construire). Required for all new construction, significant renovations, and changes of use. The permit process involves obtaining an urban planning certificate (certificat de urbanism), preparing the technical project, obtaining approvals from utilities and authorities (fire, environment, health), and submitting the application to the local authority (primăria). Timeline: 30 days statutory after complete submission — but the preparatory phase (obtaining the urban planning certificate and all required approvals) typically takes 3–12 months depending on project complexity and municipality efficiency.

Zoning and urban planning. Construction must comply with the local General Urban Plan (PUG) and, where applicable, Zonal Urban Plans (PUZ) and Detailed Urban Plans (PUD). Projects that do not conform to existing zoning may require a PUZ/PUD amendment — a process that can add 6–18 months to the permitting timeline.

Construction standards. Romanian construction is governed by EU-harmonised standards (Eurocodes for structural design), national normatives (seismic design — particularly important given Romania’s Vrancea seismic zone), fire-safety regulations, and the nZEB energy-performance mandate for new buildings.

Construction supervision. All construction projects require a technical supervisor (diriginte de șantier) and, for larger projects, independent design verification (verificare de proiecte) by authorised engineers. The State Construction Inspectorate (ISC — Inspectoratul de Stat în Construcții) oversees compliance.

Sustainability and Digital Transformation

Green Construction

Romania’s construction sector is increasingly influenced by ESG and sustainability requirements. The nZEB mandate for all new residential buildings has raised the baseline energy performance. Commercial buildings — particularly offices — are increasingly built to BREEAM or LEED certification standards to attract international tenants. Green-certified buildings command rental premiums of 5–15% and lower vacancy rates.

The EU’s Renovation Wave strategy and Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) will require further improvements in building energy performance, including potential renovation mandates for existing stock. For developers and investors, building to green standards is no longer optional — it is a market-access requirement for premium tenants, a financing condition for ESG-conscious lenders, and a future-proofing measure against regulatory obsolescence.

Digital Transformation in Construction

Romania’s construction industry is at an early but accelerating stage of digital transformation. Building Information Modelling (BIM) is becoming standard for large public and commercial projects — EU-funded infrastructure tenders increasingly require BIM-based design and project documentation. Drone surveying, 3D scanning, and digital site monitoring are used by major contractors. Prefabricated and modular construction methods — while still a small share of total output — are growing as the labour shortage makes off-site manufacturing more attractive.

For international construction and engineering firms, Romania offers a market where digital capabilities provide a genuine competitive advantage — local contractors are upgrading, but demand for BIM-competent, digitally integrated project delivery exceeds domestic supply.

Challenges Facing the Construction Sector

Outlook for 2026–2027

THE CENTRAL FORECAST: Despite potential economic deceleration in the near term, EU-funded infrastructure investment is expected to remain the primary growth engine for Romania’s construction sector through 2027. The recovery of broader economic growth — forecast for 2027 — should support residential and commercial construction recovery alongside the sustained infrastructure and energy pipeline. The structural undersupply of modern infrastructure, industrial facilities, and energy capacity means that Romania’s construction sector has a multi-decade growth trajectory ahead.

Frequently Asked Questions