Output was 1.8% higher compared with December, while new orders for the final quarter of 2013 rose 1.5% from the preceding quarter.
Construction Products Association economics director Dr Noble Francis said the 1.5% rise in Q4 suggested the growth would continue over the next 12-18 months.
Private housing was the key driver of construction growth in January with the sector’s output 23.3% higher than a year earlier.
The CPA is forecasting private housing starts to rise 16% this year and a further 10% in 2015.
It said output in public non-housing had suffered greatly in recent years but was set for a recovery, with the sector up 2.2% in January compared to a year earlier.
