Executive summary
- The City of Windhoek approved a total of 188 building plans for April 2022
- Out of 188 building plans approved, a total number of 86 buildings were completed during the month under review
- Total buildings completed were driven by houses and additions
- The number of building plans approved and buildings completed declined by 24% and 33% respectively. See Figure 1
- During the month under review, the City of Windhoek approved a total of 114 addition plans, 58 house plans,15 wall plans, and 1 commercial plan
- Additions plans were the main drivers of the building plans approved for April 2022
- Total building plans approved were valued at N$ 107, 556, 928 and total buildings completed were valued at N$ 43,426,778 for April 2022
Analysis
- On an annual basis, the number of building plans approved for Windhoek declined to 5.1% from 21.95% recorded during the same period last year. (See figure 2).
- The decline in the number of building plans approved and completed for April 2022 by the City of Windhoek could have been influenced by delays in the building projects due to the high costs of most of the building materials
- The City of Windhoek indicated that the highest number of building plans approved for April 2022 was from Windhoek suburb with a total of 33 plans (19 addition plans, 11 house plans,2 wall plans, and 1 commercial plan) valued at N$ 52,678,500
- Katutura suburb had the second-highest number of building plans approved with a total of 19 plans (16 additions, 2 house plans, and 1 wall plan) valued at N$ 1,885,812 for the month under review
Outlook
- Windhoek’s construction sector faces strong headwinds as consumers and businesses are under pressure due to rising building material costs, rising interest rates, and rising fuel and food prices which increases the operational costs for contractors
- We project a subdued construction environment in the medium term
Figure1: Monthly Building Plans Approved Vs. Buildings Completed, Windhoek
Source: COW & HEI RESEARCH
Figure 2: Building Plans Approved Annual growth rates, Windhoek
