What impact does the epidemic have on landscape lighting projects?

The COVID-19 epidemic at the beginning of 2020 caught people off guard. This epidemic is highly contagious and has a long incubation period. The outbreak period coincides with the Spring Festival. For the first time, the entire country is under closed management during the Spring Festival. No going out, no dinners, no gatherings, and delayed resumption of work have had a huge impact on the domestic economy and international trade. The first to bear the brunt are the catering, tourism, civil aviation, film and other industries (people cannot gather), followed by the manufacturing and construction industries (resumption of work is postponed). So what impact will it have on the landscape lighting engineering industry?

1. Affected by the resonance of the overall economic situation

Landscape lighting is the "icing on the cake" project. If the economic situation is good, owners are willing to invest; if the economic situation is bad, owners may give up or reduce investment. Therefore, landscape lighting is greatly affected by the economic cycle. The economic downturn caused by the epidemic is expected to last at least until the entire first half of 2020, and landscape lighting will definitely be affected. In addition, due to the impact of the epidemic, government tax revenue will decrease and epidemic prevention expenditures will increase. Coupled with later tax cuts and other economic-boosting policies, the government will have less money in its pockets, and government investment may be further reduced.

After the economy returns to normal operations, investment in landscape lighting projects should increase.

2. Impact on construction period and payment collection

Affected by the epidemic, the resumption of work for unfinished projects in 2019 will be delayed. Migrant workers in the construction industry generally resume work later than in the manufacturing industry. At the same time, the landscape lighting project is dependent on certain structures. For the "Three Simultaneities" project, if the construction of the building is delayed in resuming work, it will also cause the landscape lighting project construction period to be delayed. In the contract, the extension period is generally calculated from the time when the local provincial and municipal government initiates the first-level response to major public health emergencies) to the date of termination.

In addition, due to the economic impact, the income from the owner's main business has decreased, which may cause a delay in project payment collection.

3. Impact on project costs

Landscape lighting projects are generally delayed in resuming work during the epidemic. Although the resumption of work is postponed, the wages of the company's technical backbone will generally still be paid as usual, so labor costs will increase.

For projects that are still under construction during the epidemic, the increase in epidemic prevention costs cannot be underestimated. Anti-epidemic supplies such as masks, thermometers, and disinfectants have become necessary infrastructure at construction sites, just like safety facilities. Construction units and construction units should also establish an emergency management mechanism for the epidemic and provide specialized epidemic prevention training to workers. Disinfection management and sanitation management of temporary buildings and employee dormitories on construction sites should be further strengthened. Relevant departments and property owners may conduct inspections on epidemic prevention more frequently.

Recently, the Zhejiang Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development issued the "Notice on Making Every Effort to Prevent and Control the Epidemic to Support Enterprise Development," which clarified that for projects that continue to be constructed during the epidemic prevention and control period, special funds for epidemic prevention and control can be listed separately in the project cost, and calculated at the standard of 40 yuan per person per day.

Zhengzhou City issued the "Implementation Opinions on Supporting the Resumption of Work and Production of Construction Enterprises During the Epidemic Prevention and Control Period", which officially clarified that: starting from February 13, epidemic prevention costs will be included in the project cost; the "COVID-19" epidemic will be clearly set as a force majeure listed in the "Construction Project Construction Contract" and the "Contract Law"; the epidemic prevention costs incurred by construction units in corresponding construction projects during the epidemic prevention period will be included in the project cost and be fully added; the construction site will resume work Necessary epidemic prevention materials must be prepared. The local government of the enterprise and the local government of the project can provide the enterprise with some necessary epidemic prevention materials such as rapid infrared body temperature detectors, disinfectant water, masks, etc., based on the actual situation, to help the enterprise resume work and production; reasonably extend the contract period. If the contract cannot be performed on time due to the impact of the epidemic or the need for epidemic prevention and control during project construction, a reasonable extension of the contract period is allowed. The specific extension period will be re-determined after negotiation between the two parties.

Qingdao City issued the "Supplementary Notice on Matters Concerning the New Start and Resumption of Construction Projects in 2020", which clarifies: Returnees from outside the province must be quarantined and observed in accordance with the epidemic prevention and control requirements from the day they enter Qingdao. Those returning to youth within the province who meet the epidemic prevention and control requirements are not required to be quarantined. An independent area should be designated as an isolation observation area within the construction site; if there are difficulties in the preparation of epidemic prevention and control materials and the entry of building materials at the construction site, you can apply to the Qingdao Municipal Housing and Urban-Rural Development Bureau for coordination and resolution; the actual expenses incurred due to the implementation of epidemic prevention and control measures can be included in the project cost.

It can be seen that for projects constructed during the epidemic, epidemic prevention costs should be included in the project cost. For those that are not included, relevant enterprises can apply to the construction unit for equipping them with epidemic prevention supplies. The construction unit should list expenses in the budget.

4. Impact on cultural tourism lighting

In the long run, the epidemic will inevitably change people's lifestyles, and the scale of crowd gatherings may be greatly reduced compared to before. The cultural tourism industry is a sub-item of the tourism industry. When the flow of people cannot gather, there will inevitably be a greater impact. Correspondingly, cultural tourism lighting will also be greatly affected. Because light festivals, light shows and other products will naturally bring crowds of people to gather, the bidding for related projects will also be postponed or even cancelled. The development of cultural tourism lighting is under great pressure.

Due to the influence of the central government's excessive control of "landscape lighting projects" and other "achievement projects" and "face projects" issues, the author believes that the popularity of landscape lighting construction will drop significantly, and design units, construction units, and lighting manufacturers should be prepared to "overwinter". This epidemic has made this "winter" even worse.

However, our country's development is in an upward cycle, and the economy will not stagnate due to a small epidemic; as long as the economy continues to develop, the "spring" of the landscape lighting industry will not be far away. In order to protect small and medium-sized enterprises, I believe the country will also introduce corresponding support policies. We lighting people should strengthen our confidence and believe that the future of our motherland will be better, and the future of the lighting industry will be better!