[ manilastandardtoday.com ] October 22, 2009
THE number of building permits issued rose 48.2 percent in the second quarter, led by a 69-percent rise in applications for home construction, the National Statistics Office reported yesterday.
Local governments issued 37,266 building permits in the quarter, up from 25,145 in 2008, the agency said.
But the total value of the structures was 10.2 percent lower, indicating there were fewer large construction projects this year.
By category, 31,184 permits were issued for residential building construction, up from 18,451 the year before.
The number of non-residential building permits grew 3.1 percent to 2,792 from 2,707.
But the combined approved building permits for additions, alterations and repairs dropped by 17.5 percent to 3,290.
Analysts expect housing repair to pick up in the fourth quarter after floods and landslides caused by two storms damaged thousands of houses in Luzon.
Meanwhile, the total value of construction in the second quarter was placed at P34.37 billion, down by 10.2 percent from P38.28 billion a year earlier.
The value of residential building construction rose 8.2 percent to P19.81 billion while the cost of non-residential building construction fell 31.9 percent to P11.50 billion.
The combined value of the additions, alterations and repairs fell 0.3 percent to P3.07 billion from a year ago.
Data showed that there were applications in the second quarter for the construction of 46 bank buildings, 137 hotels or motels, 501 condominium or office buildings, 693 stores, 44 factory buildings, 13 repair or machine shops, and three printing presses. Roderick T. dela Cruz
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