Approved building plans in Windhoek increase but value falls sharply
The City of Windhoek approved a total of 228 building plans in March, representing a 3.2% increase from the 221 building plans approved in February, a report by IJG shows.
Although the number of building approvals for 2021 are 15.4% higher than the same period of 2020, the value of these approvals has fallen relatively sharply by 27.1%, from N$556.7 million in 2020 to N$406 million in 2021.
Year-to-date, the number of completed buildings rose to 296, a decrease of 13.5%.
The 12-month cumulative number of building plans approved increased by 15.9% in March. A total of 2,358 building plans to the value of N$1.70 billion were approved over the last 12 months which represents a decline in value of 13.8%.
“Although 12-month cumulative value of approvals fell in March, residential building plans seem to have started gaining momentum, recording 10 consecutive months of year-on-year increases in the number of residential approvals, in which 7 of the 10 months recorded increases in value terms,” IJG stated in their latest Building Plan report.
IJG noted that in contrast, the commercial sector reflects Namibia’s uncertain business outlook, with only 8 commercial and industrial building approvals year-to-date.
Furthermore, when factoring out commercial and industrial building approvals, the 12-month cumulative value of approvals rose by 28.8% in March.
“On the one hand, this reflects the relatively strong recent growth witnessed in the residential plans approved, on the other hand, it raises concern about the country’s commercial sector, which made up 38.5% of the value of total approvals at the peak of the construction industry, in September 2013, compared to only 4.4% in March 2021,” IJG noted.
