Category Archives: Building Plans

A total of 213 building plans to the value of N$172.5 million were approved by the City of Windhoek in February 2015. On a year‑to‑date basis (January to February), 398 plans were approved compared to 495 plans over the same period last year. In value terms, plans approved year-to-date are worth N$267.4 million compared to N$695.1 million for the same period in 2014, down 61.5%. This decrease is mostly due base effects as three large commercial projects were approved by the municipality in February 2014. On a monthly basis, a few more plans were approved in February when compared to January, and the value of plans approved is up 81.8% m/m. The higher figures are mainly seasonal as December and January tend to be slower months.

The 12 month cumulative number of plans approved continued to lose momentum during February, falling to 2,749 compared to 2,803 in January, with the year-on-year growth rate contracting by 16.4%, posting negative growth for the tenth consecutive month, as shown in the graph below. The 12-month cumulative value of plans approved totaled N$1.870 billion, down 27.2% y/y, with the base again having a drag effect.

In our view the construction sector will remain one of the leading growth and development sectors for 2015 in the Namibian economy, with both private sector and government having aggressive development plans. However, many such plans fall out of the Windhoek municipal area, and as such are not captured in the monthly building plan statistics.

A total of 185 building plans to the value of N$94.9m were approved by the City of Windhoek in January 2015. It looks like a good start for 2015 as 49 more plans were approved in January compared to a seasonally slower December, however in value terms it is significantly less than the N$244.4m worth of plans approved in December. The difference in value is mainly because less expensive commercial and industrial projects were approved in January.

The 12 month cumulative number of plans approved continued to lose momentum during January, falling to 2,803 compared to 2,846 in December, with the year-on-year growth rate contracting by 14.8%, posting negative growth for the ninth consecutive month, as shown in the graph below. The 12-month cumulative value of plans approved totaled N$2.212bn, down 1.6% y/y.

In our view the construction sector will remain one of the leading growth and development sectors for 2015 in the Namibian economy, with both private sector and government having aggressive development plans. However, many such plans fall out of the Windhoek municipal area, and as such are not captured in the monthly building plan statistics.

A total of 231 building plans to the value of N$130.1m were approved by the City of Windhoek in November 2014. On a year‑to‑date basis (January to November), 2,710 plans were approved compared to 3,136 plans over the same period last year. In value terms, plans approved year-to-date are worth N$2.053bn compared to N$2.105bn for the same period in 2013, down 2.5%. This decrease is mostly due to base effects. On a monthly basis, 10 more plans were approved than in October and the value of plans approved is up 50.1% m/m, coming of a notable low value in October.

The 12 month cumulative number of plans approved continued to lose momentum during November, falling to 2,874 compared to 2,963 in October, with the year-on-year growth rate contracting by 12.7%, posting negative growth for the seventh consecutive month, as shown in the graph below. The 12-month cumulative value of plans approved totaled N$2.167bn, down 1.4% y/y.

In our view, the construction sector will be one of the leading growth and development sectors in the Namibian economy for 2014, despite a slight decline in the building plans approved recently, as many development and construction plans fall out of the Windhoek municipal area, and as such are not captured in the monthly building plan statistics.