Building permits in 2015 rose

Building permits in 2015 rose by 12 per cent in terms of area and 25 per cent in terms of value compared to 2014, the statistical service said.

The construction area and value of projects which received a building permit from local authorities last year was 881,116 square metres and almost €1.1bn respectively, Cystat said in a statement on its website on Tuesday. In 2015, authorities issued permits for 3,387 housing projects, 1,000 non-housing projects, and 187 civil engineering projects.

The construction area of housing projects which received a building permit last year was 678,392 square metres, 14 per cent higher than 2014, while the respective value rose 18 per cent to €663.6m, Cystat said. In the case of non-housing projects, total construction area and value rose 7.6 per cent to 193,331 square meters and 22 per cent to €247.2m.

The area of civil engineer projects which received a building permit from local authorities fell 12 per cent to 9,393 square metres while the value rose 87 per cent to €124.1m, Cystat said.

Building permits is an important leading indicator of future economic activity.