Construction continues to build up momentum

​Czeriza Valencia (The Philippine Star)

MANILA, Philippines — Construction works continue to build up this year, growing 1.1 percent in the third quarter as more non-residential buildings broke ground  during the period, data from the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) showed.

Based on PSA’s Third Quarter 2017 Construction Statistics from Approved Building Permits report, the total number of constructions generated from approved building permits went up to 36,076 in July to September, from 35,684 construction projects registered during the same quarter in 2016.

While majority are still residential buildings, the number of new units built during the reference period declined 2.5 percent to 26,227 from 26,896 reported during the same period last year. Decreases were seen across most types of residential buildings such as apartments, single-type houses and duplexes.

Builders were more aggressive in putting up non-residential buildings, as evidenced by the 12.7 percent increase to 5,231 projects during the quarter from 4,641 in the same period the previous year, the PSA noted. The growth was brought about by the increased number of industrial, commercial and institutional buildings.

Additions to existing structures also rose 17.2 percent to 1,176 projects from 1,003 last year. The combined number of alterations and repairs of existing structures also increased 9.5 percent to 3,442 from 3,144 the previous year.

A fourth of the construction projects during the third quarter were in the CALABARZON region while the rest were in Central Luzon, Metro Manila, Central Visayas and Davao.

The provinces where building activity was most robust during the period were: Cavite, Cebu, Laguna, Batangas, Bulacan, Davao del Sur, NCR Fourth District, Bohol, Rizal, and Negros Occidental.  These areas comprised 47.6 percent of the total projects during the reference period.

The total value of construction projects during the period was lower by 6.5 percent at P72.1 billion compared with P77.2 billion recorded during the third quarter of 2016.

Residential constructions valued at P36.5 billion fell eight percent from P39.7 billion during the same quarter in 2016. This was attributed to the decline in construction values of single-type houses, residential condominiums and apartments.

The value of non-residential buildings amounting to P30.8 billion was also down by 3.2 percent from P31.8 billion registered during the third quarter of previous year. This was due to the decrease in the construction values of industrial buildings and commercial buildings.

Combined construction values of alteration and repair of existing structures estimated at P3.8 billion fell 16.9 percent from P4.6 billion recorded in the same quarter in 2016. Similarly, construction values for addition to existing structures recorded at P1 billion fell nine percent from P1.1 billion during the same period in 2016.

It became more expensive to build new residences during the third quarter of 2017 as shown in the 4.2 percent increase in the average cost per square meter of residential-type constructions for the third quarter of 2017 which was estimated at P9,579 up from the previous year’s average cost of P9,193 per square meter.

For non-residential constructions, however, the average cost per square meter fell 2.9 percent during the quarter to P9,679 from P9,972 recorded during the same period in 2016. The decline was attributed to the drop in average cost per square meter of industrial and institutional constructions.

​[source]