Almost half of all buildings completed in South Africa, by value, between January and July of this year, were in the Western Cape. This is an important leading indicator for the economy and is positive news that should inspire confidence in the province.
The Western Cape’s share of 44% of buildings completed is higher than the province of Gauteng, which accounts for 28% of all buildings completed nationally.
The Western Cape also far exceeds Gauteng by value of buildings completed at R17.71 billion, compared to R11.39 billion. This represents a growth rate of 58.3% in the Western Cape compared to 6.5% in Gauteng.
In addition, the Western Cape continues to lead on the value of building plans passed in South Africa and is now responsible for nearly a third (31.6%) of all building plans passed nationally, measured by value.
This is according to Statistics South Africa’s ‘Selected building statistics of the private sector as reported by local government institutions’ report, released on 15 September 2022.
| Province | Building Plans Passed
Value Jan – July 2022 |
Building Plans Passed
% increase/decrease Jan – July 2022 |
Buildings Completed
Value Jan – July 2022 |
Buildings Completed
% increase/decrease Jan – July 2022 |
|||||
| Western Cape | R20.98bn | 27.3% | R17.71bn | 58.3% | |||||
| Gauteng | R20.24bn | -0.9% | R11.39bn | 6.5% | |||||
| KwaZulu-Natal | R11.62bn | 0.4% | R5.61bn | 37.0% | |||||
| Eastern Cape | R4.15bn | -17.2% | R1.58bn | -13.9% | |||||
| Mpumalanga | R3.08bn | 49.1% | R0.74bn | 32.1% | |||||
| North West | R2.26bn | -23.9% | R1.10bn | -17.0% | |||||
| Limpopo | R1.77bn | 36.5% | R0.59bn | 43.4% | |||||
| Northern Cape | R0.92bn | 48.1% | R0.51bn | 49.6% | |||||
| Free State | R1.42bn | -8.3% | R0.39bn | -4.2% |
The number and value of building plans passed is also an important leading indicator for construction down-the-line.
The Western Cape government is fully committed to supporting this positive trend by ensuring that building plans convert into building sites, so construction jobs are realised.
When I tabled the Provincial Economic Review and Outlook 2022/23 yesterday in the Provincial Parliament, I highlighted that we need to increase productivity and efficiency in the province, so that we can achieve break-out economic growth, that lifts people out of poverty.
Which is why we will be focussing on substantially increasing fixed investment in the province with a specific emphasis on social infrastructure investments.
