The government in the Philippines is giving a new push to major construction projects awarded under a public-private partnership scheme, putting the building sector on a strong growth path after last year's Typhoon Haiyan wrecked havoc in the southeast Asian country. The construction industry has already shown impre
The government in the Philippines is giving a new push to major construction projects awarded under a public-private partnership scheme, putting the building sector on a strong growth path after last year's Typhoon Haiyan wrecked havoc in the southeast Asian country.
The construction industry has already shown impressive growth so far this year. Residential building and reconstruction efforts have been driving the surge after the tropical cyclone, known as Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines, hit the Visayas islands in November 2013. One of the strongest typhoons ever recorded in terms of wind speed, it caused total losses estimated at $12-$15 billion, according to Kinetic Analysis Corp, a US-based hazard research company.
President Benigno Aquino's government seems determined to move forward with mothballed developments, while simultaneously rolling out major new roads and utilities projects as part of the PPP scheme, which has been hit by severe delays since its launch in 2010.
The Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA) announced in June that the total number of approved building permits had grown by a fifth during the first quarter of 2014 year-on-year to reach 29,468. The total project value was PHP 61 billion ($1.4 billion), a 4.3% increase over the first quarter of 2013. The number of residential building projects, which accounted for the bulk of new building permits, increased 17% year-on-year.
Meanwhile, the number of construction permits issued for additions, alterations and repairs of existing structures totalled 5,474 during the first quarter, a 42% year-on-year jump, with part of this hike attributed to reconstruction efforts following Typhoon Haiyan.