BUCHAREST, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- A large part of Romania's budget next year will go to construction, the local Ziarul Financiar daily reported on Monday.

The Romanian government has set infrastructure, education and healthcare as priorities of the 2007 budget, the daily said.

The government has scheduled to spend some 6.6 percent of GDP, or 7.1 billion euros (8,9 billion U.S. dollars) next year, the daily said.

A large part of the budget, or 2.5 billion euros (3.1 billion U.S. dollars), will be poured into the construction market, through infrastructure projects related to road, railroad, school and healthcare.

The money is fuelling the already strong demand on the construction market, boosting its growth at a pace of about 15 percent in 2007.

Upscale homes offer golfer's paradise

To the surprise of Sierra Building Group, the launch of its upscale golf community in Collingwood was so well received it prompted the company to unveil its second phase months earlier than expected.

It will take about a decade to complete the entire development, which will house about 800 West Coast-inspired homes and a 15,000-square-foot complex with recreation and spa facilities.

Industry Leading Self Storage Solutions Provider Starts ...

Stor edge self storage has begun construction on its newest location in Windermere, British Columbia. The Lake Windermere location will be the first in BC for the expanding storage services franchise.

Calgary, AB (PRWEB) October 16, 2006 -- Stor edge self storage has begun construction on its newest location in Invermere, British Columbia. The Lake Windermere regional facility will be the 7th one the five-year-old company has opened, and the first in BC, as its exciting franchise continues to grow across Canada. Bill Roberts, Vice President of Stor edge self storage Group of Companies, had this to say of the new development: "Obviously we're very excited to be opening yet another location and particularly proud to be expanding into the BC market. By aggressively building the Stor edge brand, we are able to a new range of storage services to customers in the south eastern British Columbia region while continuing to expand across the country."

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Plaza battle to court

With the second stage of the up-market Queens Plaza now under construction, the centre's major retailer, David Jones, is fighting proposed design changes, which it claims would compromise its flagship Queensland store.

The Supreme Court yesterday heard the developer now wants to build an office tower over the top of the CBD retail complex, instead of the originally planned residential tower.

"You want clear spaces, few obstructions, clear sight lines and maximum flexibility," Mr Sofronoff said.

Commercial Construction Gains Ground as Residential RE Slips

BY MOLLY NANCE

As the end of the year approaches, the construction industry will see a smooth transition into 2007, a prediction based on the 31st annual CIT Construction Industry Forecast.

CIT Construction offers financial products and services to contractors, equipment dealers, equipment-rental companies and other construction-related clients. The firm is a unit of CIT Group Inc., a New York City-based commercial and consumer finance company, with $68 billion in managed assets.

Its annual report is a national culmination of industry insiders predictions for a relatively positive future for the next year, including an upswing in the commercial real estate market.

The 900 contractors and equipment distributors that were surveyed measured their perceptions of next years progress from what is called an Optimism Quotient, or OQ.