I read Charles Buhagiar’s article (‘Skill cards for the construction industry’, The Sunday Times of Malta, October 11) and thought it was very informative. One weakness, however, is that it exaggerates the contribution of the construction industry to the economy.

The direct contribution of the construction industry is about four per cent of GDP (this is found in official NSO statistics) and GDP only includes the direct effects of all industries. It is true that the construction industry generates indirect demand of about another four per cent (for example tiles and apertures) and also has an income-multiplier effect (a portion of the wages and profits earned by construction operators is re-spent).

But other industries also have direct, indirect and income-multiplier effects. If we add these indirect and income-multiplier effects of all industries to GDP as the denominator, and the direct, indirect and income-multiplier effects of the construction industry as the numerator, the ratio of the construction industry will not be much different from four per cent.

One problem that I see in Malta is that the contribution of the construction industry is often exaggerated and, most of all, its negative impacts are often downplayed by interested parties.