b'Page 11Continuing with this success, their work on the new HS2 railway project commenced, developing a faster route between London and Birmingham. Skanska also completed the redevelopment of St Bartholomews hospital incentral London; part of a 10-year construction project which also included The Royal London Hospital. Difficulties faced and how they affected the construction industryIn 2019 the world came to a halt due to the unexpected, COVID-19. This deadly virus spread rapidly across the globe, impacting everyone. The world went into lockdown, and people were told to stay at home and not to travel to and from work. The press put a lot of pressure on the construction industry, mainly for not social distancing to prevent the spread of Covid. Despite this, some construction works continued especially projects in the healthcare sector. Natta thankfully was able to continue working on some projects notably our healthcare projects, Avery Park Care Home and St Lukes Hospice. As well as the pandemic made it difficult for businesses to trade so did Brexit. In 2020, the United Kingdom left the European Union and trading to and from the UK was impacted. Restrictions on the EU side of the border became tighter and more expensive causing delays and cancellations. Due to supply chain issues, businesses experienced a drop in profitability. Over the upcoming months, things started to pick up and construction work started rolling again.In February 2022, Russia went to war with Ukraine. This has continued to severely disrupt the international trade system. Industries around the world have been affected due to increased costs, cancellations, disruption intransportation and the rise of inflation.Natta Group continues to growFollowing on from the success of CISTC, Natta noticed that within the Surrey and West Sussex area, construction companies needed to improve their staff training and development. Natta partnered with CITB in 2017 and the Surrey Training Group was formed.In our Groups desire to offer a one-stop solution, we set up a Natta Utilities Division. We can provide full package construction for the one and off-siteinstallation of gas, electricity and water. Our accreditations enable us to install utilities in conjunction with the main infrastructure, which can be a problematic interface. In 2019, the Natta Group acquired SteelManagement andrebranded to Natta Steel. Natta Steel gives the Natta Group another specialism for the industry, as they specialise in the design, fabrication and installation of steel, for commercial, industrial and residential projects.Summary50 years in Construction To conclude our series of blogs on construction through the decades we have shown how the construction industry has grown and developed. It is still constantly evolving. Modular buildings are now making an impact, demonstrating how the design and construction of buildings are being developed; the manufacturing process of creating more efficient housing and modern construction methods, as well as, the use of more environmentally friendly machinery. Also, how health and safety, introduced into the workplace, has had a monumental benefit to construction workers and how we are finding new ways to keep our workforces safe at all times.The construction industry is continuously changing for a better, more sustainable, greener future. You can read more of our blog posts about thehistory of construction in the media area of our website .'