According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the total number of construction permits fell by a yearly 16.41% to reach 6,947 by July 2019. Accordingly, the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) also slipped by an annual 27.85% to $4.09M 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 (34.75% of total), with 2,414 construction permits issued by July 2019, down by an annual 25.86%.
In South Lebanon (grasping 20.66% % of total), construction permits also shrunk 9.63% over the same period to settle at 1,435.
The North ranked 3rd in the total construction permits with a stake of 15.26% of the total, equivalent to 1,060 permits in the first 7 months of 2019, compared to 1,220 during the previous year.
Following the same trend, in Nabatiye and Bekaa (12.90% and 9.75% of total), the number of construction permits contracted by an annual 16.10% and 10.69% to reach 896 and 677 permits respectively.
However, in Beirut (constituting 6.69% of total issued permits), number of construction permits grew by a yearly 10.45% to reach 465 by July 2019.
Number of Construction Permits by July
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli