According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits fell by a yearly 3.48%, to stand at 16,502 permits by December 2017. However, the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) rose by 14.81% year-on-year (y-o-y) to settle at 11.81 million (M) square meters (sqm).
In a regional breakdown, the largest number of construction permits was issued in Mount Lebanon, South Lebanon, and Nabatiye, grasping the respective shares of 35.24%, 17.85%, and 13.14% of total permits, respectively. Nonetheless, by December 2017, all governorates witnessed a slowdown in the construction activity, as the number of issued construction permits slipped by the annual rates of 6.33%, 8.74% and 8.25%, respectively, to stand at 5,816 in Mount Lebanon, 2,946 in South Lebanon, and 2,169 in Nabatiye.
Over the same period, the construction area authorized by permits totaled 4.63M square meters (sqm) in Mount Lebanon, 1.59M sqm in South Lebanon, and 1.12M sqm in the Bekaa, all declining by the yearly rates of 8.63%, 7.94% and 7.37%, respectively.
Number of Construction Permits by December
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli