The year 2019 proved to be a challenging year for the Lebanese economy, given the economic and financial crisis. The current economic slowdown continues to weigh down on the construction sector.
According to the Orders of Engineers in Beirut and Tripoli, the total number of construction permits dropped by an annual 13.86% to reach 11,074 by the end of 2019. It followed that the Construction Area Authorized by Permits (CAP) registered an annual downtick of 32.65% to 6M square meters (sqm), which also 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 33.96% of the total. In fact, the construction permits issued within the region amounted to 3,761 permits by 2019, down by a yearly 27.70%.
Meanwhile, the South of Lebanon (constituting 22.16% of total) accounted for 2,454 construction permits, down by a yearly 10.54%. In turn, the North ranked 3rd grasping a 15.19% of the total construction permits issued, equivalent to 1,682 permits in 2019. Nabatiye (13.41% of total) and the Bekaa (9.50% of total) followed, with the number of construction permits falling by a yearly 18.99% and 18.45%, to settle at 1,485 and 1,052 permits, respectively.
Nonetheless, in Beirut (5.78% of total), the number of construction permits retreated by 6.57% year-on-year to stand at 640 permits in 2019.
Number of Construction Permits by December
Source: Orders of Engineers in Beirut & Tripoli