Building permits surge
by 68 percent in Beirut

Numbers mainly stable

or slightly lower elsewhere

Construction permits issued in 2022 were stable overall, but have slightly changed across areas both in terms of numbers and the areas covered by these permits, according to the statistics of the Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut (OEA) and the Order of Engineers and Architects in Tripoli.

The number of permits fell by one percent to over 20,000, covering more than 10 million square meters (m2), basically the same as the previous year. Beirut, the North, and Bekaa witnessed increases mainly in terms of area. The figures were lower for the other regions.

In Beirut, the number of permits increased eight percent to 326 while the areas covered by these permits surged 68 percent to nearly 229,000 m2 registering the largest growth in terms of area across the country. Namir Cortas, Chairman of the Real Estate Developers Association (REDAL), said that some developers rushed to apply for construction permits in Beirut ahead of an increase in their fees, in a continuation of a trend that has started in the previous year. The growth in issued permits has also been generated by developers who purchased plots of land in Solidere’s waterfront area in recent years, according to Cortas.



Source: Order of Engineers and Architects in Beirut, Order of Engineers and Architects in Tripoli

The permits issued by OEA dropped by 4.4 percent in terms of area compared with a surge of 76 percent in 2021. This shows that the rush of developers to obtain building permits at low fees in anticipation of an increase in the official exchange rate slowed down in 2022. This is reflected by cement deliveries which changed contrariwise to the changes in the volume of construction permits. Cement deliveries were almost unchanged in 2021 despite the surge in permits. In the first ten months of 2022 they increased by eight percent compared with the same period of 2021 amid a slight decline in issued permits.