The current economic slowdown continues to weigh down on the construction sector, as the country awaits developments on the political front, especially on the possibility of unlocking the promised CEDRE funds.
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the total number of construction permits dropped by an annual 14.8% to reach 7,954 in the first eight months of 2019. It followed that the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) registered an annual down tick of 27.5% to 4.6M square meters (sqm), which mainly indicates investors’ growing interest in smaller construction areas for their projects.
In a regional breakdown, Mount Lebanon grasped the largest share of the issued permits or 34.5% of total. In fact, the construction permits issued within the region amounted to 2,740 permits by August 2019, down by a yearly 24.2%.
Meanwhile, the South of Lebanon (constituting 21.03% of total) accounted for 1,673 construction permits, down by a yearly 6.8%. In turn, the North ranked 3rd grasping a 15.7% of the total construction permits issued, equivalent to 1,252 permits in the first 8 months of 2019. Nabatiye (12.8% of total) and the Bekaa (9.5% of total) followed, with the number of construction permits falling by a yearly 15.7% and 14.1%, to settle at 1,018 and 759 permits, respectively.
Nonetheless, in Beirut (6.4% of total), the number of construction permits grew by 9.2% year-on-year to stand at 512 permits by August 2019.
Number of Construction Permits by August
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli