International

The UK is not alone is having to take swingeing cuts to public sector spending. Throughout the West and the Middle East, governments are being forced to tighten their belts. "With the amount of public sector deficit we're all going to suffer in the developed world, it's difficult to understand how infrastructure and public spending is going to happen," says Graham Robinson, director of Global Construction Perspectives and co-author of a report on future global prospects.

Shrinking market share

Global Construction 2020 predicts that the developed world's share of the global construction market will shrink from 65% in 2005 to 45%, while there will be a corresponding increase in demand and output in a range of emerging markets.

The BRIC economies – Brazil, Russia, India and China – will feature strongly in the next decade, but the report also highlights lesser-known emerging markets that are just coming to the UK industry's attention. Consider fast-growing, oil-rich Angola and Nigeria, which both have huge infrastructure requirements and a low construction skills base. Or Vietnam, benefiting from international investment and looking to emulate China's growth. Or Turkey, Europe's sixth-largest economy with a fast-growing population and a potential stepping off point for destinations further east such as Turkmenistan and Tajikistan.

Early out of the downturn

The global downturn may have devastated the construction market in the West, but emerging countries have not felt the same impact. "A number of the emerging markets we operate in were late into the downturn, and early out," says Rob Smith, senior partner at Davis Langdon, which operates globally. "Many places in Asia, specifically China, India, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Thailand, were in and out."

At the same time, less-developed economies are realising that they need infrastructure to grow, and that projects can best be delivered by structuring long-term, complex PPP deals.

"Ghana, Rwanda, Mozambique, and Angola are all set to grow over the next five years, and they have a desperate need for power, water, education, health, road, rail and airport projects," points out Turner & Townsend director Mark Walmsley FCIOB, who moved to the firm's Johannesburg office in January 2010. "There are massive opportunities here. We're already working on several PPP health projects in South Africa, a police project in Uganda, and another health project in Lesotho."

Expertise required

Business advisers and overseas hands agree that export opportunities do exist for companies with a clear specialism, such as expertise in PPP/PFI projects or infrastructure project management. For instance, Vietnam is looking enviously over the border at China's high-rise cities, but its construction sector needs expertise in building higher than six storeys. In Egypt, where project manager Hill International is established, there are plans to build 2,500 schools in the next 10 years under its PFI system.

Vietnam

Vietnam's legal and financial systems are still undeveloped by Western standards, making the country an above-average risk for investors let alone job-hunters. But Vietnam is attracting attention due to its phenomenal growth rates – in 2009 Davis Langdon ranked it as the world's fourth fastest-growing construction market. Spending on construction is expected to hit $1.4bn in 2015. Which is probably why Qatar's state-owned developer Qatari Diar is in talks to invest there.

Turkey

Predicted to become Europe's third largest economy by 2050 and offering, according to the UK government, "multi-billion pound construction opportunities". As well as the immediate need for 600,000 new homes a year, Turkey will require massive infrastructure development. Under way already are the £8bn Nabucco gas pipeline project, the Istanbul-Ankara high-speed rail project and the Bosphorus crossings.

Azerbaijan

The UK is already the largest investor in Azerbaijan, mainly in the oil sector. But this has been the world's fastest-growing economy in the past three years – with GDP growth of 20% a year – and opportunities exist in all sectors. While UK firms may find it hard to compete with locals for many construction projects, architectural services and project management skills will be in demand, particularly in the capital, Baku.

Nigeria/Angola

Strong historical ties mean that Nigerians look to British goods and services above other countries. GDP is forecast to grow by 5.5% in 2011, bringing demand for buildings and infrastructure. Angola, meanwhile, has Africa's fastest-growing economy, and demand for equipment and services to the construction industry offers opportunities for UK firms. With little domestic materials production, most are imported.

Brazil

With a population growing at 2m a year and a "new" middle class of 20m demanding more housing and better infrastructure, Brazil needs construction input. Add to that the 2014 football World Cup and the 2016 Olympics, which UKTI estimates will require 80 projects, and you'd think British firms would be piling over. But Brazil remains largely untapped, although Halcrow, Balfour Beatty and Mott MacDonald have a presence there.