Construction activities rise 12% in 2016

Construction activity in the country remains robust, growing 12.1 percent in 2016, driven by the construction of more residential buildings, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) said.

The final results of the 2016 Construction Statistics from Approved Building Permits showed the total number of construction from approved building permits in 2016 reached 147, 996, up from 132,006 in 2015.

Residential constructions rose 16.4 percent to 113, 097 last year from 97, 174 in 2015. PSA attributed the rise to increased building of apartments, singletype houses, and residential condominiums. There was a decline, however, in the construction of duplexes and quadruplex types of residential buildings.

Non-residential building construction, meanwhile, grew 10.7 percent in 2016 to 17, 845 from 16, 126 recorded in 2015. This was brought about by the increase in agricultural, industrial, commercial and institutional projects.

Additions and alterations to existing structures, meanwhile, declined 10.1 percent and 8.3 percent, respectively.

More than half of the construction projects in 2016 (59 percent) were concentrated in CALABARZON, Central Visayas, Central Luzon, and National Capital Region. In Mindanao, construction was most active in Davao City.

By province, building activity was most aggressive in Laguna, Batangas, NCR fourth district, Bulacan, Negros Oriental, Davao del Sur and Misamis Oriental.