333 building permits issued in August — plans for 1,030 flats and 21.7 billion denars in value

The State Statistical Office issued 333 building permits in August, an annual increase of 18.9 percent. Those approvals open the way for a total of 1,030 new apartments across the country, while the declared value of the projects reached a record 21.7 billion denars — a rise of 315.5 percent compared with the same month last year.

Skopje remains by far the largest construction zone: of the 333 permits issued in August, 105 were in the Skopje Region.

The structure of the approved projects shows a clear leaning toward larger buildings:

• 224 permits (67.3 percent) were for high-rise construction
• 91 permits (27.3 percent) were for reconstructions
• 18 permits (5.4 percent) concerned low-rise construction

Area, value and the motorway effect

The 1,030 planned apartments represent a total usable residential area of 80,530 square metres. The dramatic jump in declared construction value — which exceeded €354 million — has a concrete explanation.

Officials point out that the increase is directly driven by the permit issued for the section of the A4 motorway that connects the Blace border crossing with Skopje. That major infrastructure approval pushed August’s total permit value to roughly four times last year’s August level.

Investor composition also stands out: private individuals filed and obtained the majority of permits. There were 231 projects (69.4 percent) initiated by individuals and 102 projects (30.6 percent) by companies and business entities. While construction firms dominate large residential and infrastructure projects, individual housebuilding and small extensions still account for most municipal permits.

Photo: press material from the event