Government investment will play a crucial role in driving construction industry growth during the next three years, a major conference has heard.

“Construction: The Challenges & Opportunities Ahead”, held at the Royal Institute of British Architects on January 17, heard the Construction Products Association‘s (CPA) economics director Allan Wilén forecast a 5% annual rise in public sector construction expenditure over the next three years, offsetting weakening private sector activity.

He said: “School building and health facilities will be especially fast-growing areas of activity, with a sharp rise in both PFI schemes and traditionally public-funded projects.”

&#8220School building and health facilities will be especially fast-growing areas of activity.”

Construction Products Association economics director Allan Wilén

The conference was organised by the CPA and Interbuild to assess the prospects of the construction industry in the near future.