The local geotechnical and foundation construction market, estimated at an annual level of about 93 million EUR, will remain this year most likely at the level recorded in 2013, according to the opinions of the managers in the field. Given that the market is significantly dependent on the construction industry, the prospects of the geotechnical and foundation works segments are positive, but the lack of market liquidity, the still low investor confidence in the national economy and the continuously excessive taxing represent obstacles against the sustainable resumption of the activity of the entire sector. Another feature of the market during early 2014 is the slowdown in public investment, confirmed by the National Statistics Institute (INS), which reported, for the first four months, a decrease of 27.3% as adjusted series of the engineering construction works. At national level there are active 25 specialized companies, the leaders in the field being Bauer, Octagon, Soletanche Bachy, Terratest Geotehnic, Züblin Romania, Edrasis Construct etc. According to the opinion of Alexander Ignatiadis, co-founder and shareholder of Octagon C&E - one of the leading manufacturers of special foundations and geotechnical works in Romania, with a turnover of 19.6 million EUR achieved in 2013 - this year will be very different in comparison with the previous one. "In the first quarter, there was a 3% contraction of the construction sector, while the GDP grew by 3.8%, so this segment was not an increasing one of the economy. There was a recovery in the private sector generated by the construction of two shopping malls in Bucharest and several factories in the country, but these investments have not yet materialized in numbers", stated the manager of Octagon. However, the election period did not influence positively the building market, and maintained the political instability. "During the election period, a lot of construction investment funds are diverted through budget amendments towards the public sectors that can bring votes, such as those related to social protection, in order to influence voters", said Alexandros Ignatiadis.