[ March 24, 2008 malaya.com.ph ]
The National Statistics Office reported a slowdown in building construction during the second quarter of last year, the latest data available.
Building permits granted for the period dropped 13 percent from 26,563 in 2006 to 23,045 last year.
Total value of construction dropped 5.7 percent to P29.6 billion from P31.4 billion, with a bigger slide seen in non-residential building.
Value of construction for residential buildings rose slightly by 0.4 percent to P13.4 billion from P13.3 billion recorded during second quarter of the previous year.
On the other hand, value of construction for non-residential building amounting to P14.1 billion decreased by 9.6 percent from P15.6 billion.
Combined value for additions, alterations and repairs, estimated at P2.1 billion, was also lower by 14.0 percent from P2.4 billion recorded during the same quarter of the previous year.
Residential building construction decreased by 11.6 percent to 15,823 from 17,904 approved building permits. Non-residential building construction fell by 41.4 percent to 2,518 from 4,295 approved building permits.
On the other hand, combined approved building permits for additions, alterations and repairs increased by 7.8 percent to 4,704 from 4,364 approved building permits.
At the regional level, National Capital Region (NCR) recorded the highest number of approved building permits with 3,837 applications or 16.7 percent of the total. This number, however, is lower by 23.2 percent compared with 4,998 applications reported during the second quarter of the previous year.
Three (3) provinces registered approved building permits exceeding a thousand mark. These were Cebu (2,115), Cavite (1,452) and Bulacan (1,026)..
Across the country, value of construction in the National Capital Region (NCR) consistently remained highest at P12.9 billion accounting for 43.6 percent share of the total value. Calabarzon and Central Luzon ranked second and third with shares of 14.1 percent (P4.2 billion) and 11.9 percent (P3.5 billion), respectively.
During the second quarter of 2007, value of construction for residential buildings reached P13.4 billion and with a total floor area of 1.95 million square meters, translating to an average cost of P6,852 per square meter. This figure represents an increase of 8.8 percent compared with the average cost of P6,296 per square meter during the same quarter of the previous year.
Among the types of residential building construction, single type residential units recorded the highest number of approved building permits at 13,803 (87.2%), with a total floor area of 1.58 million square meters, and an aggregate value of P10.4 billion or an average cost of P6,561 per square meter.
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