Baumit boss angry:

Baumit boss criticizes the two billion euro construction package

Baumit Austria boss Georg Bursik criticizes the implementation of the government's billion-euro construction package

(Bild: APA/HARALD SCHNEIDER)

The head of Baumit Austria, Georg Bursik, criticizes the implementation of the government's billion-euro construction package. "The fact is that nothing of the two billion euro package has arrived," says the Managing Director of the Lower Austrian building materials manufacturer about the package announced in February. 

"Very little has reached the private sector", while "nothing at all" has reached the non-profit housing developers, Bursik specified in an interview on Sunday.

Two billion in investments promised
At the time of the announcement, the government pledged more than two billion euros in investments by 2027 for various measures to help the struggling construction industry. The tripling of the renovation bonus is a "great campaign", said Bursik, but it is not being advertised enough. He believes that it is up to the ministries to raise awareness of the funding. According to the company boss, the bureaucratic effort involved in the application process is "fine".

Bursik also did not have a good opinion of the so-called KIM regulation, which stipulates strict rules for the granting of real estate loans. In particular, the maximum debt service ratio of 40 percent was a thorn in his side. With higher incomes, "you can easily spend more than 40 percent", said Bursik and appealed for private individuals to take responsibility for their own debts.

"Worse than challenging"
In February, the company boss predicted a "challenging year" for the industry in 2024, but the interim assessment is now "worse than challenging".

The construction industry will recover in parallel with the economy. "You could accelerate this by giving confidence", but there are currently no signs that the poor status quo will change in the coming months, lamented Bursik. However, a recovery for the sector is important, as it is a pillar of the economy and "we need living space for the people moving to Austria", emphasized the managing director.

"It would have been crucial to involve the federal states as funding bodies from the outset," said FPÖ construction spokesperson Philipp Schrangl according to a press release. "And unfortunately, the timing of the government's construction package came far too late."

He spoke out in favor of a federal subsidy for housing construction in order to increase it to one percent of GDP. "And we need to revive the housing investment bank in order to secure favorable financing lines," added Schrangl.