A total of 205 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in February, 84 more than in January. In value terms, approvals rose by N$35.4 million to N$224.8 million in February from N$189.4 million worth of approvals in January. A total of 34 building plans were completed at a value of N$41.5 million in February. Year-to-date, N$414.2 million worth of building plans have been approved. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,024 building plans were approved worth approximately N$1.96 billion, 1.2% higher in value terms than cumulative approvals in February 2019.
The largest number of building plan approvals in February were made up of additions to properties. 164 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$94.3 million, 18.4% less in value terms than in February 2019. Year-to-date 262 additions to properties have been approved with a value of N$129.9 million, a 13.5% y/y decline in value terms. 13 additions worth N$9.1 million were completed during the month.
New residential units accounted for 28 of the total 205 approvals registered in February, 11 more than the 17 residential units approved in January. In value terms, N$108.6 million worth of residential units were approved in February, 511.5% more than the N$17.8 million worth of residential approvals in January. It should however be noted that one of these residential approvals is a N$71.0 million project. Year-to-date 45 residential units have been approved, 16 fewer than during the corresponding period in 2019. In monetary terms, N$126.4 million worth of new residential plans have been approved year-to-date, a decrease of 39.6% when compared to the corresponding period last year. 21 new residential units worth N$32.4 million were completed during the month.
13 New commercial units valued at N$21.9 million were approved in February, bringing the year-to-date number of approvals to 19, worth a total of N$157.9 million. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals have increased to 61 units worth N$647.3 million as at February, compared to the 39 approved units worth N$449.0 million over the corresponding period a year ago. No commercial and industrial units were completed in February.
In the last 12 months, 2,024 building plans have been approved, down 6.5% y/y in terms of number of approvals, but up 1.2% y/y in terms of value. Year-to-date, the total value of building plan approvals was down 7.1% y/y from the corresponding period in 2019.
