Value of City building plan approvals skyrockets

The construction industry continues to perform robustly, with the value of business plans approved within the City of Windhoek in April, up 27.4% over where it was last year over the same period. According to professional services firm IJG Securities, a total of 247 building plans were approved in Windhoek in April, bringing to a total the number of plans approved since January, to 890. That number is less than the 1 032 plans that were approved between January and April in 2013, but at a value of N$992.1 million, is a 23.5% improvement over the N$778.7 million recorded then. “This increase is mostly due to three large commercial projects that were approved by the municipality in February 2014,” the IJG Securities building plans report for April, states. “Should the year to date trend of ‘value of plans approved’ be maintained for the remainder of the year, 2014 will most likely be equivalent to the record 2012,” author Jan-Hendrik Conradie, said. In terms of commercial property plans, 39 of these were approved between January and April, a notable improvement over only 26 that got the go-ahead over that period in 2013. The value of commercial building plans approved this year thus far, was said to be up 540.5%. “A commercial property to be situated in Katutura, valued at N$26 million was approved during the month, another commercial property, valued at N$21 million is to be built in Rocky Crest and a N$17.5 million project to be built in Brakwater by INP Development was approved by the City of Windhoek,” Conradie said. The total value of commercial and industrial buildings approved thus far this year, stood at N$499.3 million, he said. That compared to last year’s figure of N$78 million. As for residential buildings, 140 units have been approved to date, down 8.5% on the comparable period last year. Plans for flats and houses approved were valued at N$153.3 million, compared to N$326.2 million from 153 plans approved over the period last year. Additions accounted for a further N$339.4 million, thanks to 711 additions approved. That is down 142 plans from last year, when over the same period, additions were valued at around N$51.5 million. WINDHOEK DENVER ISAACS