On remote Cowpen Road in southwestern New Providence, an eatery; a row of townhouses and apartment units; and quaint houses line the thoroughfare in place of what was once an overgrown mass of vegetation.
The southernmost part of Baillou Hill Road that runs perpendicular to Cowpen has a similar story. Over the last three years, the urban sprawl has lead to the area’s relatively quick development inclusive of a sports bar, mini markets and commercial complexes.
Healthy construction activity appears to be taking place in almost every area of New Providence and many of the Family Islands, officials maintain. It is a sure indicator about the vibrancy of the Bahamian economy and according to the figures construction activity is equally as vigorous in the residential and commercial sectors.
However, a number of professionals in the industry are drawing attention to the need for increased focus on regulations, enforcement and oversight.
For instance Randolph John, owner of the Construction Service Group, who said there is a “fair amount” of construction activity underway in the country, referred to a deterioration of standards in the industry.
He also pointed to the pressing need for the government to more stringently monitor the sector – which has quite a substantial number of foreign workers – in order to weed out a proliferation of problems.
“The sector isn’t really monitored properly when it comes to quality control issues ;you have a lot of people who may have been working as a mason or carpenter who decide they are going to do the whole [construction project] and they don’t know the fundamentals of building.”
“People could just go out and start ‘Joe Blow’ Construction.”
Echoing concerns already expressed, Mr. John predicted a major drain on the local labour pool in the construction sector because of the sheer volume of work expected in the short to medium term because of the anchor projects which the government has been securing.
Mortgage approvals have surged in recent times, according to officials figures from the Central Bank of the Bahamas. Mortgage data from banking institutions, insurance companies and the Bahamas Mortgage Corporation are showing a 10.1 percent hike in total loan disbursements to $123.7 million, according to the Quarterly Review of Domestic Economic Developments released earlier in the week.
The report essentially detailed how construction sector output continued its upward momentum during the period heavily driven by sustained investments in tourism and residential developments.
The preliminary indicators showed that amounts earmarked for residential projects advanced by 7.1 percent with a more significant 61.3 percent gain for commercial activities. In contrast, mortgage commitments fell by 11.1 percent to $50.9 million as the contraction in residential loan applications countered the improvement in the number of commercial loan commitments.
A local quantity surveyor concurred about the healthy levels of construction activity in recent times but opined that Bahamian companies could be given a larger piece of the economic pie.
“There is still a lot of outside input,” he said. “Dollar-wise there is a lot of construction activity going on but it’s a matter of spreading it around more to Bahamians, but there are a lot of residential projects going on in Nassau and Paradise Island.”
Pat Strachan, real estate agent and immediate past president of the Bahamas Real Estate Association [BREA] said of residential activity that in his experience the amount of potential homeowners who are interested in building from scratch as opposed to taking over an already constructed structure is generally equal. It depends on the client’s taste, he said.
Although the value of completed structures on the island has decreased in the fist six months of this year as opposed to the same period the year before, the number of instances where occupancy certificates were granted has surged.
Works and Utilities Minister Bradley Roberts explained recently that the reason was completed structures comprised primarily private residences and apartments as opposed to very large commercial buildings and resorts as was the case in 2005.
Between January and June 2006, 789 buildings in New Providence were completed, a 60.5 percent increase over the first half of the year in 2005.
The Ministry of Works and Utilities approved 1,008 out of a total of 1,752 building permits, representing a total value of more than $343 million. It reflects over a 100 percent increase in approvals and a 77.07 percent hike in building permit fees over the same period last year.
By: Tameka Lundy, The Bahama Journal
