Construction

Winter construction work in Minorca could dry up

Work will restart after Easter. | Gemma Andreu

Majorca Daily Bulletin reporterMahon06/04/2020 08:50

While construction work in Minorca will be able to restart after Easter, the industry is expressing concerns about the impact of the shutdown of the hospitality sector later this year.

One builder, Nicolás Bosch, says that if hotels, restaurants and apartments "don't have a season, they will not invest in the winter". He explains that this is already happening. Some companies which had plans for renovation have said that they will modify these and "only do what's essential".

Like anywhere else, the construction industry in Minorca is served by auxiliary businesses, be these plumbers, carpenters, painters or electricians. Ricardo Lluch, president of the Minorca association of electrical and telecommunications installation companies, says that the hotel and restaurant sector is what worries his members the most. "If there is no season, what will happen to investment over the winter?"

His association has around 100 members, over 90% of the island's electrical and telecommunications businesses. Many of them rely on winter work for improvements in the hospitality sector, especially hotels. The "value chain" of tourism, Lluch notes, extends to practically the whole of the Minorcan economy.