El Salvador’s construction industry is experiencing unprecedented growth, driven by housing, road, and urban development projects across the country. According to José Antonio Velásquez, president of the Salvadoran Chamber of Construction (Casalco), the sector expanded by 33.8 percent by the end of the second quarter of this year.
“In the first quarter, we already reported significant growth of 17.3 percent; however, by the end of the second quarter, we reached almost 34 percent,” said Velásquez during a television interview.
He explained that this momentum comes from both private investment in vertical housing developments and large-scale public infrastructure projects such as the Pacific International Airport and the modernization of Acajutla Port by YILPORT.
Investment in the second quarter alone reached $750 million, bringing the total for the first half of the year to $1.43 billion. Casalco has since raised its annual projection from $2.4 billion to as much as $3 billion. “We can confidently say we could reach $2.8 billion or even $3 billion, a growth we haven’t seen in years,” Velásquez added.
The construction and real estate sectors together now contribute nearly 16 percent of El Salvador’s GDP. Around 75 percent of current projects are residential, reflecting strong demand amid a housing deficit of about 400,000 units.
Velásquez also praised the coordination with the Office of Metropolitan Planning (OPAMSS) and the Directorate of Territorial Planning (DOT), noting that the sustained collaboration is essential to maintaining the country’s construction boom. The Central Reserve Bank confirmed similar figures, reporting a 33.9 percent growth rate for the sector in the second quarter.