Category Archives: Building Plans

A total of 184 building plans was approved by the City of Windhoek in March, a 10.2% m/m increase from the 167 approved in February. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$102.6 million, a 41.1% m/m increase from the N$72.67 million approved in February. The first quarter of the year saw 430 building plans worth N$197.3 million approved, a contraction of 27.5% in number terms and 52.2% less in value terms compared to the first quarter of 2022. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,304 buildings worth N$1.53 billion were approved, a decline of 6.8% in number- and 21.9% in value terms over the comparative 12-month period a year ago. 75 building plans worth N$41.86 million were completed during March.

March saw 136 additions to properties approved valued at N$33.81 million, 3 more than in March 2022 but N$22.43 million less in value terms. On a year-to-date basis, 319 additions to properties worth N$88.6 million were approved in the first quarter of 2023, representing a 12.4% decline in number terms and a 57.5% contraction in value terms compared to the first quarter of last year. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number and value of additions to properties continued to decline and dropped below the levels seen for the corresponding 12-month period a year earlier. 29 Additions, worth N$8.03 million were completed during the month.

46 new residential units valued at N$48.75 million were approved in March, the highest monthly new residential unit approvals reported so far this year. Year-to-date, 103 new residential units worth N$86.6 million have been approved, down 53.2% from the 220 units worth N$165.7 million approved over the first quarter of 2022. The slump is also reflected in the 12-month cumulative figures which came in at 618 units worth N$624.9 million, a drop of 26.6% y/y in number terms and a contraction of 35.7% y/y in value terms. A total of 45 residential units worth N$31.83 million were completed during the month.

2 new commercial and industrial units worth N$20 million was approved in March. This brings the year-to-date approvals to 8 commercial buildings worth N$22.1 million, representing a 42.9% y/y drop from the N$38.8 million worth of commercial and industrial units approved over the first quarter of last year. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals remained unchanged at 56 units but dropped in value terms to N$146.2 million from N$156.2 million a month earlier. Only 1 commercial and industrial unit was completed for the second month in a row.

March’s building plans data showed a slight improvement from February but continue to decent compared to the data from a year ago. The graphs above and below depict that the planned construction activity in the capital has gotten off to a weak start in 2023, like the previous lows of 2009, marking it the weakest start to a year in the past decade.  More hardship is expected over the shorter term with local interest rates almost certain to rise even further in April which will make borrowing cost for new construction projects even more expensive in an already tepid economy. Meanwhile, the Construction Industries Federation of Namibia (CIF) continue its efforts in encouraging the government to establish a Construction Council which it believes will assist in stemming unwanted practices in the sector which arguably will improve competition and drive down construction costs – one of the factors deterring growth in this sector.

The City of Windhoek approved 167 building plans in February, a 111.4% m/m increase from January’s low base of 79 approvals. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$72.7 million, a 229.0% m/m increase from January’s dismal N$22.1 million. Year-to-date 246 building plans worth N$94.8 million have got the nod, a decrease in number of 37.7% y/y and down 66.7% y/y in value terms. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,318 buildings worth N$1.56 billion were approved, a contraction of 7.4% in number- and 21.8% in value terms over the comparative 12-month period a year ago. 50 building plans worth N$41.6 million were completed during the month. 

Additions to properties made up the largest portion of building plan approvals in terms of both number and value of approvals. 127 additions to properties with a value of N$47.2 million were approved during the month, 5 fewer than in February 2022. While February’s additions to properties approvals data is significantly better than we saw in both January and December, it is still below the average monthly approvals we saw during 2022 in both number and value terms. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number and value of additions to properties remain roughly in line with the levels seen during the same 12-month period a year ago. 26 Additions, worth N$12.6 million were completed during the month. 

37 New residential units valued at N$23.5 million were approved in February. Again, while this is 17 more, and nearly double the value we saw approved for this category in January, it remains significantly lower than the approvals recorded for most months during 2022. For added perspective, the monthly average approvals in 2022 was 61 residential units worth N$58.7 million. The slowdown is also evident in the 12-month cumulative figures which stands at 635 units worth N$618.0 million, a decline of 26.2% y/y in number terms and a contraction of 39.3% y/y in value terms. A total of 23 residential units worth N$27.8 million were completed during the month. 

February saw 3 new commercial and industrial units approved for the third consecutive month. In value terms, the approvals amounted to just N$1.95 million. This brings the year-to-date approvals to 6 commercial buildings worth N$2.1 million, which translates to a 14.3% y/y decrease in the number of plans approved and a 75.6% y/y decrease in value terms. On a rolling 12-month perspective, the number of commercial and industrial approvals stood at 56 worth N$156.2 million, compared to the 40 units worth N$172.7 million over the corresponding period a year ago. Only 1 commercial unit valued at N$700,000 was completed in February. 

The building plans data for February showed an improvement in planned construction activity from January, although the increase was from a very low base, and the month’s approvals were well below the average monthly approvals witnessed in 2022, as mentioned a couple of times in this report. The total value of approvals in February (at N$72.7 million) was more than three times reported in January, but still below half the monthly average recorded last year.

2023 is thus off to a particularly slow start in terms of planned construction activity in the capital. As we pointed out in last month’s report, building plan approvals is a leading indicator of economic activity in the country and the above data implies that certain sectors of the Namibian economy are still faced with hardship.

A total of 79 building plans were approved by the City of Windhoek in January, a 28.2% m/m decline from the 110 approved in December. Bar April 2020, which recorded no approvals due to the Covid-19 lockdowns, January’s total number of approvals was the lowest since February 2017. In monetary terms, the approvals were valued at N$22.09 million, the lowest since April 2000, excluding April 2020. On a twelve-month cumulative basis, 2,370 building plans worth approximately N$1.65 billion were approved, representing a decline over the prior 12-month period both in number and value terms of 5.4% y/y and 17.9% y/y, respectively. 62 building plans valued at N$34.7 million were completed during the month. 

In number terms, additions to properties made up the largest portion of approvals. The month of January saw 56 additions to properties worth N$7.6 million getting the nod. A decline of 32.5% m/m in number terms and 63.9% m/m in value terms. In comparison to January 2022, the number of additions to properties in January of this year has decreased by 43.4%, with a corresponding decrease in value of 90.0%. On a 12-month cumulative basis, the number of additions to properties has been hovering around the 1,600 mark since 2018. 19 Additions worth N$7.3 million were completed during the month. 

Only 20 new residential units valued at N$14.3 million were approved in January, which is four fewer than in December, and represents a decline of 73.0% y/y in number of units approved and a 70.0% y/y drop in value terms. To put into perspective just how low January’s new residential approvals were, in 2020, when the Covid-19 lockdowns hampered construction activity, 53 new residential units worth N$68.6 million were approved on average each month. That being said, January is not necessarily a proxy for the annual residential approval numbers, as recent historical data suggests, and we may very well still see an improvement in these numbers going forward. A total of 40 residential units worth N$24.8 million were completed during the month.

3 new commercial and industrial units, worth just N$190,000, were approved in January. This compares to the same number of plans valued at N$4.00 million in December and N$5.53 million in January 2022. On average over the last 20 years, 5 commercial units valued at N$26.7 million were approved in the first month of the year. On a rolling 12-month basis, the number of approvals for this category rose to 57 units worth N$157.5 million as at January, compared to the 39 approved units worth N$169.9 million over the corresponding period a year ago. 3 Commercial units valued at N$2.65 million were completed in January.

In terms of number of building plan approvals in the capital, 2023 is off to the slowest start since 1990, while the value of the total approvals was the lowest for the first month of the year since 2000, even before adjusting for inflation. Building plans approved is a leading indicator of economic activity in the country and the above data implies that certain sectors of the Namibian economy are still showing signs of hardship. 

Notably, the value of new walls approved during the month (which we exclude from our data) was more than five times the value of new commercial and industrial building plans approved. This shows that most businesses do not have immediate plans to expand their existing operations.

There is a possibility that construction activity may increase during the year. However, considering the overall trend of the 12-month cumulative value of approvals over the past couple of years, as illustrated in the graph above, any growth, if at all, will be from an already low base that has been on a declining trend.