51.8% of the buildings to be built were approved for areas of less than 200 m2. And the planned homes registered 108 m2 of construction.
The economic crisis generated by the COVID-19 pandemic caused a 30.4% decrease in the number of construction permits and a 25.7% decrease in projected buildings in relation to 2019, according to the National Building Survey (ENED) of 2020.
In the previous year there were 19,203 permits and 24,764 projected buildings, amounts not registered since 2011.
Another greater decrease during the last ten years was in 2014 with 24,573 construction permits and 27,199 buildings to be built.
The study compiles data on permits issued by the country’s decentralized autonomous municipal governments between January and December last year, a pandemic period in which the construction sector was affected.
The sector suffered a drop of between 36% and 40%, according to construction companies consulted by this newspaper a few months ago.
The impact of the pandemic in the construction sector was strongly transferred to its related activities
The INEC survey clarifies that the approval of a permit does not guarantee the execution of a building. “Therefore, the data presented measure the potential performance of the construction sector,” says the institution.
In addition, that due to the difficulty that the year 2020 has presented, the 7.7% of cantons did not register construction permits and they were justified by various factors such as teleworking, “which limited the attention to citizens in person”.
However, in the Sierra region there were more buildings and homes to be built. For example, 11,978 buildings and 18,856 homes. It is followed by the Coast with 11,166 buildings and 13,017 homes; then the Amazon and the Insular region.
| Region | Buildings to be built | Homes to build |
|---|---|---|
| Sierra | 11.978 | 18.856 |
| Costa | 11.166 | 13.017 |
| Amazon | 1.509 | 1.728 |
| Insular | 111 | 171 |
| Total | 24.764 | 33.772 |
In each of the regions, the provinces with the highest number of buildings to be built were Pichincha, 4,570; Guayas, 5,961; Zamora Chinchipe, 324, and Galapagos, 111.
Meanwhile, the cantons with a high number of buildings to be built were Quito and Guayaquil, which registered 15.2% and 12.6%, respectively.
The INEC also indicates that the 51.8% of the buildings to be built were approved for areas of less than 200 m2. And the planned homes registered 108 m2 of construction.
Cuenca, for example, has the largest construction area per dwelling (161 m2), while Guayaquil, presented the smallest area (83 m2).
| Construction area per dwelling | Cities |
|---|---|
| 161 m2 | Cuenca |
| 156 m2 | Store |
| 142 m2 | Ambato |
| 139 m2 | Quito |
| 124 m2 | Ibarra |
| 117 m2 | Santo Domingo |
| 105 m2 | Portoviejo |
| 98 m2 | Daule |
| 94 m2 | Duran |
| 83 m2 | Guayaquil |
At the national level, it was planned to build houses with seven rooms and the expected cost to build it was $ 50,000. Cuenca and Loja register this value; while Guayaquil and Durán are around $ 28,000.
Meanwhile, the reinforced concrete was the main material for buildings to be built nationwide, in foundations (96%), floors (49%), structure (86%) and roof (48%).
The construction sector is one of the hardest hit by the economic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic
The main material of the walls was the block, registered for 70% of the potential buildings.
And in the case of roofs, zinc (metallic sheets) is more used in the Coast and Amazon regions.
Region
The country registers fewer construction permits than Chile and Colombia.
In Ecuador the number of homes to be built is 19 for every 10,000 inhabitants in 2020; Chile stands out with the highest value, registering 72 homes to be built for every 10,000 citizens.
On the other hand, according to INEC, when analyzing the total area to be built per 100 inhabitants, Ecuador ranks as the fourth with the largest area to be built after Chile, Colombia and Costa Rica. (I)
Paul is a talented author and journalist with a passion for entertainment and general news. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he has established herself as a respected voice in the industry.
