The construction sector, mostly in the capital city of Davao del Norte.contributed to the province’s overall growth last year, the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), with businesses and institutions comprising the bulk of construction activities.
This means that the province’s population of 1.14 million could expect additional opportunity for local employment in the immediate future, the PSA Davao del Norte officer-in-charge Michelle O. Maningo said.
She said construction posted a growth of 16.3 percent last year, and ranked as the top contributor to the 5.4 percent overall growth of Davao del Norte’s economy.
The 2024 Construction Statistics of Davao del Norte shows 3,700 construction activities, and while this was slightly lower by 0.9 percent from the 3,733 constructions the previous year, total value of constructions rose to P5.58 billion in 2024.
This value was 1.8 percent higher than its previous year’s P5.48 billion.
Non-residential buildings accounted for the largest share in total construction value at P2.65 billion, or 47.6 percent of total construction value, ‘reflecting business and institutional expansions that are generators of local employment and related businesses,’ Maningo said.
Among the biggest activities was that of a shopping mall of the country’s largest chain of malls located in Tagum City.
Non-residential buildings have the largest total floor area of construction last year, with 442,070 square meters or more than half of the overall total, said Geoffrey Pamaylaon, PSA provincial specialist on Establishment and Administrative-Based Statistics. The total floor area of constructions last year in Davao del Norte was at 675,850 square meters, which was 6.8 percent higher than the 632,840 square meters of total floor area constructed in 2023.
Pamaylaon said, however, that residential buildings still dominated the number of projects with 2,554 constructions, comprising 69 percent of total construction activities. He said residential buildings had consistently contributed the highest number of construction for the past five years in the province.
Maningo said the growth of construction in the province was an indicator of sustained investments and expanding economic activity in the province, pointing at ‘visibly rising commercial buildings and warehouses in Davao del Norte.’
‘The growth in the total value of constructions in 2024 signals continued investor confidence,’ she said.