The country’s construction boom is showing signs of a slowdown as the number of new private construction projects declined 3 percent in the second quarter of this year, the National Statistics Office (NSO) said on Tuesday.

Preliminary results culled from approved building permits nationwide showed that the number of private construction projects declined to 27,525 in April to June this year from 28,389 in the same period in 2010.

However, the aggregate value of the construction projects increased 13.4 percent to P55.7 billion from P49.1 billion a year ago.

Private construction statistics from approved building permits relate to data on new constructions and additions, alterations and repairs of existing residential and nonresidential buildings and other structures undertaken in all cities and municipalities of the country, the NSO said.

Data showed that the lion’s share of these new constructions are residential-type building projects with a total of 19,995, down 9.2 percent from last year’s 22,033. The value of construction for residential buildings also decreased by 7.9 percent to P23.3 billion, from P25.2 billion in the same quarter of 2010.

On the other hand, the number of nonresidential construction projects climbed 12.9 percent to 3,409 in 2011, from 3,020 a year, while their value significantly increased 36.9 percent to P27.9 billion from P20.4 billion in 2010.

Data also showed that the number of approved applications for additions, alterations and repairs of existing structures rose 23.5 percent to 4,121 in the second quarter, from 3,336 approved applications in the same
period in 2010. In terms of value, the NSO said it increased 30.4 percent to P4.5 billion, from P3.4 billion a year ago.

The number of construction projects in Calabarzon or Region 4 A was the highest at 6,105, accounting for 22.2 percent of the total. This was followed by the National Capital Region (NCR), with 3,567 projects for a 13-percent share, and Central Visayas (Region 7), with 3,421 projects for a share of 12.4 percent.

“Across the country, the value of construction for the NCR remained highest at P25.2 billion, accounting for 45.2-percent share of the total value. Region 4A and Region 7 ranked a far second and third with respective shares of 13.8 percent with P7.7 billion and 12 percent of P6.7 billion,” the NSO said.

Data also showed that the total value of construction for residential buildings was P23.3 billion with a total floor area of 2.9 million square meters, or an average cost of P8,126 per square meter. This represented a slight decrease of 3.1 percent compared with the average cost of P8,384 per square meter in the previous year.

The total value of nonresidential building construction reached P27.9 billion with a total floor area of 2.3 million square meters. This translates to an average cost of P12,394 per square meter.