€31.12bn
Turnover | 2024
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Trade
Construction and Building Materials Cluster
A cluster with a clear export vocation and competitive advantages that guarantee success in the international market.
Construction and Building Materials Cluster
The Portuguese Construction and Building Materials cluster is characterised by its export vocation, the talent and qualifications of its workers, its dynamism and diverse competitive advantages that ensure its success on the international market.
These two sub-industries are primarily small- and medium-sized family-run companies committed to innovation and technology, keeping up with new trends, particularly in industrialisation, sustainability, digital transformation, and e-commerce.
(Not including architecture, engineering and related techniques)
Construction
Top 5 markets (2025):
Angola, France, Spain, Belgium and Germany.
Highlight (IDPE): Portugal has a strong presence in the African market – Infrastructure Construction.
The ability of companies to internationalise and adapt, the vast experience in rehabilitating historic/residential buildings and the quality of the traditional workforce are some examples of competitive advantages in this sector. Others are the high level of knowledge and rigour, the synergy between engineers, architects, and landscape architects, which results in memorable works with identity and culture, and the ability to engineer for the world.
The dynamism of this sector can be seen in the various multinational engineering skills centres operating out of Portugal and the numerous R&D+i centres in our country, which usually work very closely with universities and in conjunction with the business community.
This is a competitive sector geared towards foreign markets, a trend that Portuguese companies have already assimilated into their DNA and have realised contributes to their growth. Its skills are recognised internationally (its companies, engineers, and universities) through numerous awards from international institutions.
Industrialised/modular construction, combined with adopting new materials and processes, is revolutionising how construction is done in Portugal. We are witnessing the arrival of Industry 4.0 in the construction sector, and concepts such as 'Smart Homes', sensors (capturing information in real-time - intelligent infrastructures), 'digital twin models', the use of robots, exoskeletons and drones, 3D printing/modelling and the adoption of BIM technology are a reality in this sector.
Increasingly, the construction industry is focusing on the energy efficiency of buildings and the sustainability of the entire value chain, advocating a model based on the circular economy. BIM is a way of facilitating this procedure and allows controlling the whole process.
In the European context, Portugal has been one of the countries with the most significant degree of diversification outside the continent, favouring emerging markets but never neglecting traditional markets. Portuguese talent and an excellent capacity for adaptation and resilience, combined with remarkable flexibility in projects of enormous complexity in geographies that are often quite adverse, and the ability to follow new trends, have been vital aspects for the international affirmation of the national construction sector in an increasingly global world.
The dynamism of this sector can be seen in the various multinational engineering skills centres operating out of Portugal and the numerous R&D+i centres in our country, which usually work very closely with universities and in conjunction with the business community.
This is a competitive sector geared towards foreign markets, a trend that Portuguese companies have already assimilated into their DNA and have realised contributes to their growth. Its skills are recognised internationally (its companies, engineers, and universities) through numerous awards from international institutions.
Industrialised/modular construction, combined with adopting new materials and processes, is revolutionising how construction is done in Portugal. We are witnessing the arrival of Industry 4.0 in the construction sector, and concepts such as 'Smart Homes', sensors (capturing information in real-time - intelligent infrastructures), 'digital twin models', the use of robots, exoskeletons and drones, 3D printing/modelling and the adoption of BIM technology are a reality in this sector.
Increasingly, the construction industry is focusing on the energy efficiency of buildings and the sustainability of the entire value chain, advocating a model based on the circular economy. BIM is a way of facilitating this procedure and allows controlling the whole process.
In the European context, Portugal has been one of the countries with the most significant degree of diversification outside the continent, favouring emerging markets but never neglecting traditional markets. Portuguese talent and an excellent capacity for adaptation and resilience, combined with remarkable flexibility in projects of enormous complexity in geographies that are often quite adverse, and the ability to follow new trends, have been vital aspects for the international affirmation of the national construction sector in an increasingly global world.
Building Materials
Top 5 markets (2025):
Spain, France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Main exporting sectors:
Metals, Wood, Ornamental Stones, Ceramics and Plastics.
The Building Materials sector, which includes the sub-sectors of metals, ceramics, wood, cork, ornamental stones, cement, plaster and concrete, plastics, paints and varnishes and glass, is strongly orientated towards foreign markets.
Competitive advantages in this sector include high value-added, high-performance products, production flexibility, the incorporation of technology into production, the capacity for innovation and product design, an integrated product offering, tradition and know-how, and an international business culture.
There are countless new trends in this sector, and preparations are underway to develop a value integration platform focused on the end client i.e. a solutions centre encompassing contractors, architects, applicators, decorators, and designers.
Product certification, market diversification, the connection to nature (raw materials), sustainability and the valorisation of environmental impact are just a few trends that cut across almost all the Construction Materials sub-sectors. Some truly disruptive materials have emerged regarding product innovation, such as "self-healing materials" (asphalt) or combining raw materials such as natural stone and cork to make new products. And the unavoidable digital transformation, including BIM technology, promotion through digital platforms/social media, and e-commerce is also an increasingly evident reality in this sector.
Portuguese building materials enjoy international recognition and can be found in numerous emblematic works around the world: the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona (ceramics and cork), the Dubai Palm in the UAE (ceramics), the Burj Al Arab in Dubai (metals), the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York (ornamental stone) or the Philharmonie in Paris (ornamental stone).
The Portuguese building materials sector will continue to be an example of constant growth in exports, not only because of the quality of the materials themselves but also because of the quality of the companies that have constantly invested in product innovation and improving the efficiency of the production process.
Competitive advantages in this sector include high value-added, high-performance products, production flexibility, the incorporation of technology into production, the capacity for innovation and product design, an integrated product offering, tradition and know-how, and an international business culture.
There are countless new trends in this sector, and preparations are underway to develop a value integration platform focused on the end client i.e. a solutions centre encompassing contractors, architects, applicators, decorators, and designers.
Product certification, market diversification, the connection to nature (raw materials), sustainability and the valorisation of environmental impact are just a few trends that cut across almost all the Construction Materials sub-sectors. Some truly disruptive materials have emerged regarding product innovation, such as "self-healing materials" (asphalt) or combining raw materials such as natural stone and cork to make new products. And the unavoidable digital transformation, including BIM technology, promotion through digital platforms/social media, and e-commerce is also an increasingly evident reality in this sector.
Portuguese building materials enjoy international recognition and can be found in numerous emblematic works around the world: the Sagrada Familia Basilica in Barcelona (ceramics and cork), the Dubai Palm in the UAE (ceramics), the Burj Al Arab in Dubai (metals), the Perelman Performing Arts Center in New York (ornamental stone) or the Philharmonie in Paris (ornamental stone).
The Portuguese building materials sector will continue to be an example of constant growth in exports, not only because of the quality of the materials themselves but also because of the quality of the companies that have constantly invested in product innovation and improving the efficiency of the production process.
