The study identifies several areas of strong projected growth. China is expected to increase its global share from 18 percent to 26 percent in 2025, after having already overtaken the U.S. in 2010 as the world’s largest construction market. The North American market will see growth of almost 40 percent by 2025, according to the study.

Asian markets are also expected to do well. India is expected to overtake Japan by 2025 as the third-largest construction market, and other Asian markets like Indonesia, Vietnam and the Philippines are becoming increasingly attractive for export-oriented manufacturing. The three countries represent a $350 billion market for construction and are growing at more than 6 percent each year.

“By 2050, there’ll be two billion additional city dwellers,” said Bruno Lafont, chief executive of global building products Lafarge. “Sustainable urbanization will be a major construction challenge.” (source: mdm.com)