WITH GRAPHICConstruction companies say there is no indication that the industry is picking up, despite hopes that new legislation would stimulate the housing market and create jobs in the struggling sector.Delivering his first Budget in February, Finance Minister Bob Richards said that a reduction in licence fees for international buyers and Permanent Resident Certificate holders would encourage residents to invest in property, providing employment for construction firms hired to carry out renovations.“As these customisations will be varied in scale and scope it should create opportunities for construction firms both large and small, thus creating a considerable diffusion of opportunity in the sector,” Mr Richards had said.But construction firm bosses claim that ­— so far — there has been no trickle-down effect, with many companies struggling to find work.Department of Planning statistics reveal that the Development Applications Board received just 841 requests for planning permission last year, compared to 1,701 ten years ago and 1,915 in 2004.Construction Association of Bermuda president Charles Dunstan, said that, while those figures are now dated, there was no indication of increased activity in the sector since the start of the year.“We all knew what the situation was like last year and those figures just support that,” Mr Dunstan, who is also managing director of construction firm Kaissa, said.“We’re looking at oldish figures from more than six months ago and what we don’t have is the figures for this year. But my gut reaction is that there’s nothing out there that’s indicative of a turn around.”Mr Dunstan said that major projects were needed to kick-start the industry, but with the exception of some hotel upgrades, no large-scale building was in the pipeline.He did point out that, because administrative procedures can take months to complete, it may be too early to say if the new laws were having the desired effect.“These things may have helped to give a bump to real estate and the hope is that people will want to make changes and improvements to their property, but until we see changes in the workload of architects and real estate agents, there’s nothing to say that the industry has got any signs of encouragement,” he said.Jose Medeiros of New Age Development supported those observations, claiming that smaller companies were still suffering because of a lack of large scale projects on the Island.He said that the lack of work meant that larger companies were “snatching up” smaller projects that would normally be given to smaller firms.“I’ve just completed one job but I don’t know where the next one is coming from,” Mr Medeiros said.“The industry is still the same as it’s been for the last year or two. As much as Government may try to encourage new work, I don’t see anyone spending any money on their properties right now.“I can’t see things changing until some major projects come through that can keep the bigger guys busy and that will free up jobs for the smaller firms. But at the moment, they’re snatching everything up because there’s so little work out there.”A spokesman for the Ministry of Finance said Government would only comment when more recent statistics have been collected.