MANILA – Construction activities in the country expanded by 16.7 percent in the third quarter of the year, reflecting the rise in residential and non-residential building permits, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said Wednesday.
Based on building permits approved, the PSA said the total number of construction in July to September reached 42,111, up from 36,076 in the same period last year.
The number of residential building under construction stood at 30,638, up 16.8 percent from 26,227 projects a year earlier.
The PSA noted the double-digit increases in the number of residential condominiums at 80.8 percent, apartments at 29.9 percent and single-type houses at 15.3 percent.
The number of non-residential construction activities reached 5,983 projects, up 14.4 percent from 5,231 a year earlier.
The PSA noted an increase in construction activities in the following sectors:
- Institutional buildings at 1,330, up 37.8 percent
- Commercial buildings at 3,630, up 13.9 percent
- Agricultural buildings at 249, up 7.8 percent
Additions to existing structures increased by 23.0 percent with 1,447 projects from 1,176 year-on-year. Likewise, the number of alterations and repairs of existing structures increased by 17.5 percent at 4,043 from 3,442.
The top 10 provinces in terms of the number of construction projects accounted for 49.4 percent of the total projects:
- 4,367 in Cavite
- 2,677 in Batangas
- 2,432 in Cebu
- 1,953 in Bulacan
- 1,750 in Laguna
- 1,690 in Fourth District of NCR
- 1,689 in Negros Oriental
- 1,638 in Bohol
- 1,330 in Iloilo
- 1,291 in Pampanga
In terms of value, the constructions projects in the third quarter reached P104.8 billion, up 45.4 percent from P72.1 billion year-on-year.
The average construction cost per square meter of residential buildings was estimated at P9,249.00 down 3.4 percent from P9,579.00.
This was brought about by decreases in the average cost per square meter of residential condominiums at 27.4 percent and other residential buildings at 16.3 percent, according to the PSA.
The average cost per square meter of non-residential construction was P10,952.00, up 13.2 percent from P9,679.00.
The increase was attributed to higher average cost per square meter of industrial buildings at 27.8 percent, commercial buildings at 12.5 percent, and institutional buildings at 5.8 percent, the PSA said. (GMA News)
