Uruguay will invest about US$7.2 billion in infrastructure projects between 2022 and 2024.
This is according to a report published Monday (6) by the Uruguay XXI Investment, Export, and Image Promotion Agency.
It also states that the construction sector grew by 6% in 2021 and highlights the “good dynamics” of home sales and purchases in the South American country in the last two years.
As for infrastructure projects, the agency points out that in 2022-2024, some US$6.078 billion will be allocated for road, energy, telecommunications, sewage, port, and rail works, while another US$1.098 billion will be invested in housing.
“Among the most important is the work on road infrastructure, for which investments of nearly US$3.3 billion are expected over five years,” the report said.
On the other hand, the document highlights that while Uruguay is “a major producer and exporter of wood,” the use of wood as a construction material has “historically taken a back seat” to other construction methods using heavy materials, so work is now underway to promote it.
“Since currently 1% of the promoted houses built in Uruguay are made of this material, the roadmap aims to reach 20% by 2032,” states the Uruguay XXI report.
It also stresses that the dynamism of construction activity in the country in the last two years “is mainly due to the works related to the UPM 2 pulp mill,” the second pulp mill of Finnish UPM, which led to the construction of the so-called Central Railway and other related works.