A few eastern European and Latin American countries appear to have weathered the global downturn in construction projects, according to figures from greenfield investment monitor fDi Markets.

The data shows that since an all-time high of more than 1300 global investment projects in construction in 2008, the number has fallen considerably. Largely as a result of the global financial crisis, there were only 503 construction projects recorded around the world in 2009. While the numbers for 2010 are not yet complete, project levels are not expected to exceed 570. Construction was one of the most vulnerable sectors when investors found liquidity hard to come by.

However, a few countries have achieved an increase in construction project numbers over the same period. Croatia saw its investment projects remain resilient, going from 10 in 2008 to 13 in 2010. Slovakia’s increased from six to nine in the same timeframe. Other countries escaping the construction FDI downturn were Macedonia (FYR), Greece, Cuba, Colombia and Peru.