"We have a lack of manpower, which according to the estimates we have, and in relation to the end of 2021, represents a lack of 80,000 workers", said Manuel Reis Campos, in relation to national numbers, but admitting that the phenomenon is felt "particularly in the North".

According to the official, the North has a 'share' of public works "more or less balanced in relation to the rest of the country", but "is experiencing a strong increase in industrial construction".

Classifying the problem of lack of manpower as "the main constraint to activity" in the civil construction sector, the head of the business association also added that the pandemic, in particular the existence of "people isolating due to Covid-19” has worsened the situation. However he added: "If you tell me that the sector is at a standstill, or the sector has generic downtime problems, it is not true".

In addition to the lack of manpower, there is also an increase in the prices of materials. "There are materials that should come from abroad and they don't, we have some flaws", he acknowledged, specifically mentioning "problems with aluminum and copper".

Manuel Reis Campos also pointed out another issue: the "slippage" in the prices of public tenders. "The builder, when bidding for a work, if he is regular, naturally tolerates it and respects the contract he made", while "companies that are irregular, companies with clandestine labour, when they see that things are not going very well, disappear", says the official.