Windhoek saw a 13.1% year-on-year increase in building plan approvals, totalling 199 plans valued at N$164.5 million in May 2024, latest data reveals.
According to Simonis Storm, the approvals were concentrated in Khomasdal, Klein Windhoek and Katutura.
“Approvals rose by 7.6% m/m and 13.1% y/y compared to May 2023. A total of 199 plans were approved, with a collective value of N$164.5 million,” said the firm’s Junior Economist Halleluya Ndimulunde.
She said out of the 199 approved plans, 147 were for additions to existing structures, 35 for new houses, 10 for walls, six for commercial uses and one for a pool.
In the same month, the number of completed buildings rose to 190, a significant increase from the 37 completed in May 2023.
“This rise is largely due to follow-up inspections conducted by the City of Windhoek to assess the completion status of properties,” she said.
Ndimulunde said this falls in line with the forecast of an increase in the number of completed projects in Windhoek. She further highlighted that these figures exclude government properties.
This comes as the construction industry experienced modest growth of 3.5% y/y in the first quarter of 2024, following three consecutive quarters of decline.
“This growth was significantly lower compared to the 26.8% y/y increase seen in the first quarter of 2023. The Namibia Statistics Agency attributed this minimal growth primarily to activities in the green hydrogen sector,” said Ndimulunde.
She added that the real value of government expenditure on construction declined by 31.5% y/y in the first quarter of 2024, in stark contrast to the 15.9% y/y growth recorded in the same period in 2023.
The sluggish growth in the construction sector was largely due to reduced government spending, with a significant contraction observed in transport infrastructure projects, as reported by the NSA.
Additionally, in the first quarter of 2024, the real value of approved and completed building plans recorded growth of 1.0% y/y.
She said this was a significant improvement from the -5.5% y/y recorded in the first quarter of 2023, though it was lower than the 15.7% y/y growth recorded in the previous quarter.
Meanwhile, at Swakopmund, 75 building plans valued at N$67.2 million were approved, 40 building plans valued at N$31.3 million were completed, and 66 building projects valued at N$46.6 million were submitted during the period under review.
“Of the 75 approved plans, 72 were for new residential buildings, two for new industrial buildings, and one for a new institutional building. The majority of completed projects included new residential buildings and additions, followed by new flats,” she said.
Additionally, in May 2024, the Swakopmund municipality collected N$834,142.80 in application fees, N$27,776.50 in compliance fees, and N$426,893.67 in building fines.
