According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the total number of construction permits fell by a yearly 19.19% to reach 4,927 by May 2019. Accordingly, the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) also slipped by an annual 30.58% to $3.05M square meters (sqm), which may reflect investors preferring smaller construction areas for their projects.
In a regional breakdown, Mount Lebanon grasped the largest share of permits issued (35.64% of total), with 1,756 construction permits issued by May 2019, down by an annual 27.62%.
In South Lebanon (grasping 20.19% % of total), construction permits also shrunk 11.48% over the same period to settle at 995.
The North ranked 3rd in the total construction permits with a stake of 14.61% of the total, equivalent to 720 permits in the first 5 months of 2019, compared to 878 during the previous year.
Following the same trend, in Nabatiye and Bekaa (12.95% and 9.86% of total), the number of construction permits contracted by an annual 20.15% and 27.62% to reach 638 and 486 permits respectively.
However, in Beirut (constituting 6.74% of total issued permits), number of construction permits grew by a yearly 12.54% to reach 332 by May 2019.
Number of Construction Permits in May
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli