Strategic priorities for ensuring the economic security of Ukraine’s construction industry in the context of post-war recovery

Abstract

Construction performs a key restorative and multiplier function in the national economy; however, the contraction of the entrepreneurial base, fragmented recovery of production, unstable financial performance, and dependence on external financing bring to the fore the need to ensure the industry’s economic security on a systemic basis.

The purpose of the study is to substantiate strategic guidelines for ensuring the economic security of Ukraine’s construction industry based on an analysis of its institutional, production, and financial characteristics in long-term dynamics and in the context of post-war recovery.

The methodological framework of the study comprises general scientific and special research methods, including analysis and synthesis, generalization, comparative analysis, the index method, as well as structural-dynamic and systems analysis. The empirical base is formed using official statistical data on the number of construction industry business entities, volumes of output, revenues from construction works performed under contract, and the level of operating profitability of enterprises for 2013–2024.

The results show that the recovery of the construction industry is fragmented and accompanied by structural asymmetry of the entrepreneurial base, market concentration, and unstable financial performance. It is demonstrated that the moderate recovery of operating profitability in 2023–2024 does not ensure sufficient financial self-sufficiency of enterprises and constrains their capacity for self-financing. Financial, structural, institutional, and recovery-related threats are systematized, forming multi-level risks to the industry’s economic security. On this basis, a system of strategic priorities is substantiated, aimed at strengthening enterprises’ financial resilience, restoring a balanced industry structure, diversifying sources of financing, and improving institutional conditions for the implementation of post-war projects.

The practical significance of the findings lies in their applicability to the formulation of post-war recovery public policy, sectoral construction development programs, and the economic security monitoring system.