The value of building permits issued in Cyprus in the period January – November 2020 decreased by 23%, mainly reflecting the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on large projects.
In particular, according to the data of the Statistical Service, for the period January – November 2020, 6,375 building permits were issued compared to 6,571 in the corresponding period of the previous year, showing a decrease of 3% on an annual basis.
However, the value of building permits issued in the eleven months of 2020 amounted to € 1.6 billion, a decrease of 23% compared to € 3.3 billion in the corresponding period last year.
The total area showed a much smaller decrease, which in the period January – November 2020 fell by 8.6% on an annual basis, while on the contrary, the number of housing units showed a small increase of 0.2%.
The biggest impact was shown by the large projects, with the relevant licenses issued during the period January – November 2020 amounting to 595 compared to 629 in the corresponding period, with the value of licenses falling to € 1.6 billion, showing large reduction of 32%.
In terms of permits per province, despite the pandemic, the construction activity in Nicosia and Famagusta increased, where the permits in the eleven months of 2020 amounted to 2,477 and 318 compared to 2,334 and 282 respectively in the same period last year.
In Larnaca 871 building permits were issued in the period January – November 2020 compared to 1,020 in the same period in 2019, in Limassol 1,854 compared to 1,961 and in Paphos855 compared to 974.
November rises
According to Statistics, in November 2020, the number of building permits issued by municipal authorities and provincial administrations rose to 686, compared to 583 compared to the previous month of 2020.
The total value of these permits reached € 295.6 million and the total area 228.4 thousand square meters.
With these permits, 831 housing units are planned to be built.
