Number of Construction Permits Down by 2.9% y-o-y in Q3 2017

According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the number of construction permits declined by an annual 2.9%, to settle at 12,505 permits by September 2017. The Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) also slipped by 13.59% year-on-year (y-o-y) to stand at 7.66M square meters (sqm), which most likely indicates that investors are preferring smaller construction areas for their projects.

In a regional breakdown, the deterioration registered in the number of permits reflected a slowdown in the construction activity in all governorates, except in Beirut and the North, which witnessed an improvement in the construction activity. In details, Mount Lebanon grasped the largest share of permits issued (35.43% of total permits), with 4,430 construction permits issued by Sept. 2017, down by 4.3% y-o-y. The South of Lebanon (grasping 17.53% of total), witnessed a yearly decline of 10.09% in the number of construction permits, which reached 2,192 allocated permits over the same period. In Nabatiyeh (constituting 12.98% of total issued permits), 1,623 permits were issued in Q3 2017, down 10.23% y-o-y compared to Q3 2016. Nonetheless, in the North (20.58% of total permits), the number of construction permits rose by an annual 11.05% to reach 2,573 permits. Similarly, in Beirut (4.4% of total), the number of construction permits rose by 6.59% y-o-y to stand at 550 permits in Q3 2017.

Number of Construction Permits and their Annual Growth by September

Number of Construction Permits Down by 2.9% y-o-y in Q3 2017

Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *