Cape Town - Municipalities in Gauteng recorded the highest value of building plans passed in 2013, but other metros are fast catching up, Statistics SA said on Tuesday.
The value of building plans passed in Gauteng stood at R35.3 billion, 41 percent of the national total.
The Tshwane metro recorded the highest value of building plans passed, at R14.7bn, followed by Cape Town at R13.9bn, Ekurhuleni at R9.7bn, Ethekwini at R9.6bn, Johannesburg at R7bn, and Nelson Mandela Bay Metro at R2.7bn.
In terms of translating the building plans into actual construction, Tshwane did not fare so well, partly as a result of the Wingate Mall not being completed.
“They're not necessarily regressing. It's just that other municipalities are growing much more rapidly,” statistician general Pali Lehohla told journalists at Parliament.
The Cape Town metro fared the best in terms of the value of buildings completed, at R13.1bn, followed by Tshwane at R9.6bn, Johannesburg at R7.2bn, Ethekwini at R5.1bn, Ekurhuleni at R3.5bn, and Nelson Mandela Bay at R0.9bn.
The majority of buildings completed were houses, which represented close to 35 percent of the national total.
Offices completed accounted for 10.9 percent of the total number of buildings constructed, while industrial and warehouse space made up eight percent of the national total. - Sapa