Construction activities rise 12% in 2016

MANILA, Philippines -  Construction activity in the country remains robust, growing 12.1 percent in 2016, driven by the construction of more residential buildings, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The final results of the 2016 Construction Statistics from Approved Building Permits showed the total number of construction from approved building permits in 2016 reached 147, 996, up from 132,006 in 2015.

Residential constructions rose 16.4 percent to 113, 097 last year from 97, 174 in 2015. PSA attributed the rise to increased building of apartments, single-type houses, and residential condominiums. There was a decline, however, in the construction of duplexes and quadruplex types of residential buildings.

Non-residential building construction, meanwhile, grew 10.7 percent in 2016 to 17, 845 from 16, 126 recorded in 2015. This was brought about by the increase in agricultural, industrial, commercial and institutional projects.

Additions and alterations to existing structures, meanwhile, declined 10.1 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

More than half of the construction projects in 2016 (59 percent) were concentrated in CALABARZON, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and National Capital Region. In Mindanao, construction was most active in Davao City.

By province, building activity was most aggressive in Laguna, Batangas, NCR fourth district, Bulacan, Negros Oriental, Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.

In terms of value, new buildings built in 2016 were estimated to be worth P378.9 billion, an increase of 14.3 percent from the previous year’s construction value of P331.6 billion.

The value of residential constructions, accounting for about half (49.5 percent) of the total value of constructions was estimated at P187.6 billion, translating to a growth of 17.2 percent from the previous year’s value of P160.1 billion.

The value of non-residential constructions, meanwhile, amounted to P162.5 billion, a 13.5 percent increase compared with P143.2 billion in 2015.

Alterations and repairs of existing structures valued at P24.0 billion, likewise increased 9.2 percent compared with P22.0 billion recorded in 2015. On the other hand, value of additions to existing structures declined 24.5 percent to P4.8 billion from P6.3 billion in 2015.

Construction value remained highest in NCR at P157.4 billion or 41.5 percent of the total. This was followed by CALABARZON and Central Visayas with respective construction values of P62.3 billion and P29.0 billion, respectively.

It is becoming more expensive to build new residences as the average cost per square meter of residential buildings in 2016 has risen 4.8 percent to P10, 664 from P10, 180 in 2015.

Building costs likewise rose for non-residential buildings as the average cost per square meter for such has risen 0.7 percent to P11,269 per square meter from P11, 195 average cost per square meter in 2015.

The National Economic and Development Authority has said strong construction activity is expected to continue to give the domestic economy a boost through the creation of more jobs.