Category Archives: Building Plans

The City of Windhoek approved 219 building plans in February, representing a 24.4% m/m increase from the 176 building plans approved in January. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$156.3 million, a 21.5% m/m increase. Year-to-date 395 building plans worth N$285.0 million have got the nod, an increase in number of 15.2% y/y and 14.9% y/y in value terms. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,503 buildings with the value of N$2.00 billion were approved, an increase of 8.9% in number and 18.6% in value terms over the prior 12-month period. 144 building plans worth N$53.1 million were completed during the month.

In terms of both number and value of approvals, additions to properties once again made up the largest portion of approvals. For the month of February 132 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$76.8 million, 1 more than in February 2021. The value of the additions approved is 8.8% higher than during the same month last year. 104 Additions worth N$20.6 million were completed during the month.

New residential units were the second largest contributor to the number and value of building plans approved with 83 approvals registered in February, 9 more than in January. In value terms N$76.2 million worth of residential units were approved in February, a 59.6% m/m increase. On a year-on-year basis the value of approvals is however 17.9% lower than registered in February 2021. On a 12-month cumulative basis the number of residential units approved increased by 17.5% y/y to 860, although this number has been ticking down since May last year when it stood at 933. 40 New residential units worth N$32.6 million were completed in February.

4 New commercial units valued at N$3.6 million were approved in February. This compares to 3 units valued at N$505,000 approved in February 2021. Year-to-date there have been 7 commercial building approvals valued at N$8.8 million, which translates to a 75.0% y/y increase in number and 17.0% y/y increase in value terms compared to the same period last year. These increases are from an evidently low base low base. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals increased to 40 units worth N$172.7 million, compared to the 26 approved units worth N$180.8 million over the corresponding period a year ago. No commercial and industrial units were completed in February.

The 12-month cumulative number of building plans increased by 8.9% y/y in February to 2,503. While this in an increase from the prior 12-month period, it has been hovering around the current level since April last year, showing nearly no meaningful improvement since then. Residential approvals have recorded a decent recovery in 2021 following the slowdown in 2020, but has too stagnated at current levels on a 12-month cumulative basis in both number and value terms since April last year. As pointed out last month, the number of commercial and industrial approvals continues to trend in the low single digit territory and in value terms, commercial approvals have remained below the N$200 million mark on a cumulative 12-month basis for the last 13 months.

A total of 176 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in January, representing a 79.6% m/m increase from the 98 building plans approved in December. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$128.7 million. 2022 is off to a better start in both number and value terms compared to January 2021 when 122 building plans worth N$84.0 million got the nod. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,505 building plans worth approximately N$2.01 billion were approved, an increase in number of 9.7% y/y and 14.9% y/y in value terms over the prior 12-month period.

In terms of both number and value, additions to properties made up the largest portion of approvals. For the month of January, 99 additions to properties were approved with a value of N$75.4 million, 28 more than the number of additions approved in January 2021. The value of approvals is however slightly skewed by a single large approval of N$21.1 million during the month. 40 Additions worth N$9.2 million were completed during the month.

New residential units were the second largest contributor to the total number of building plans approved in January. 74 New units worth N$47.7 million were approved during the month, representing a 6.9% decrease from the N$51.3 million worth of approvals in the first month of 2021. On a 12-month cumulative basis, residential units recorded a 20.7% y/y increase in value. 30 New residential units worth N$17.1 million were completed during the month. 

3 New commercial units, valued at N$5.5 million, were approved in January. This compares to 1 unit valued at N$7.0 million approved in January 2021. On average over the last 20 years, 4 commercial units valued at N$26.5 million were approved in the first month of the year. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals have increased to 39 units worth N$169.9 million as at January, compared to the 36 approved units worth N$202.2 million over the corresponding period a year ago. 1 Commercial unit worth N$140,000 was completed in January.

The 12-month cumulative number of building plans approved increased by 9.7% y/y in January. A total of 2,505 building plans to the value of N$2.01 billion were approved over the last 12 months which represents an increase in value terms of 14.9% y/y. Additions to properties, which are generally smaller projects, continue to make up the lion’s share of building plan approvals, although residential units are encouragingly starting to make up a larger portion of overall approvals. Since March 2020, the number of commercial and industrial approvals have remained in the low single digit territory, signalling a lack of investment from businesses. It is evident that the Namibian construction industry continues to tread water as the value of approvals continues to decline in real terms, as the chart above shows. 

The City of Windhoek approved 98 building plans in December, which is a 62.7% m/m decline from the 263 building plans approved in November and 14.8% y/y lower than the 115 approvals in December 2020. In value terms, approvals fell by 46.2% m/m to N$116.6 million. A total of 63 building plans worth N$317.3 million were completed during the month, representing an increase of 23.5% y/y in terms of number and 891.2% y/y in terms of value of completions. A total of 2,451 building plans were approved in 2021, 169 more than in 2020. In value terms, total approvals for the year rose by 5.9% y/y to N$1.96 billion.

Additions to properties once again made up the majority of building plans approved in 2021. Of the 2,451 building plans approved in 2021, additions accounted for 1,574 of these approvals, 27 fewer than in 2020. In value terms, approvals of additions for the year increased by N$55.5 million or 8.0% y/y. 2021 was the first year that the value of additions to properties recorded an increase on an annual basis, following three years of decline. 63 additions were approved in December, 122 fewer than in November and 66.2% lower in value terms at N$36.5 million. During the year 870 additions have been completed to a value of N$237.4 million, a drop of 1.8% y/y in number and 47.7% y/y in value terms.

New residential units were the second largest contributor to the total number of building plans approved with 840 approvals registered in 2021, 200 more than in 2020. In value terms, new residential units approved increased from N$823.5 million in 2020 to N$1.04 billion in 2021. On a month-on-month basis, the number of new residential approvals decreased by 57.3% to 32, while the value of approvals declined by 34.5% to N$69.1 million. 45 Residential units valued at N$38.7 million were completed in December bringing 2021’s total number to 611, down 15.1% y/y. The value of residential completions fell to N$562.5 million, down 46.1% y/y.

A total of 37 commercial and industrial units were approved in 2021 compared to the 41 in 2020. In value terms, commercial and industrial approvals fell by 48.2% y/y in 2021 to N$171.4 million. 3 New commercial units valued at N$11.1 million were approved in December. 3 Commercial and industrial buildings were completed during the month, bringing the year’s total to 10, two fewer than in 2020. In value terms, N$313.9 million worth of commercial and industrial units were completed in 2021, representing an increase of 690.3% y/y, although the increase is mostly driven by the N$250.0 million completion of Nedbank’s new headquarters in December.

The number of building plans approved in 2021 rose by 7.4% compared to 2020, but the cumulative number of plans remains down 28.0% from its peak in 2013. The cumulative value of approvals increased by 5.9% y/y to N$1.96 billion in 2021 and is down 24.8% from the peak in 2013 in nominal terms. Building plans approved is a leading indicator of economic activity in the country and the above data implies that the Namibian economy has shown some recovery in 2021 following the Covid-19 slump, it is still showing signs of hardship. The low number of commercial building plan approvals in 2021 is another sign of this and indicate that most businesses are not planning on expanding their existing operations.