Rob Horgan
BUILDINGS are popping up across the country as a new construction boom gets underway.
A total of 49,695 building licences were approved in 2015, according to the Ministry of Public Works.
That represents an increase of 42.5% compared to the previous year.
Of the total licenses granted in 2015, 35,025 were for apartments in blocks, while 14,651 were for individual family homes.
The figures represent a change in mindset, breaking a seven-year hiatus.
Naturally the number of registered construction workers also increased, going up by 4.7%.
The last thing Spain needs is a another construction boom, especially since there are so many empty properties across the country. Just about every town I’ve passed through in Spain has at least one or more empty housing building sites. Some have been there for decades, cranes still hanging overhead and mature trees growing through the rubble. Why can’t those projects be completed or legalized before undertaking more construction? Spain is broken.
The construction business is about bribes and corruption, not finishing projects. After the notables who give permits and choose builders get their up-front cut, there is no percentage left for project completion.
Ten years ago we suggested to local politicians and builders that the aytmo with EU help make it possible to rehab abandoned houses. We were told that isn’t the way the system works – though it is nice to see there are a few communities of Germans and Brits doing that after buying entire tiny villages.
The Ayuntamiento’s line is always the same – they have no money and it’s the Junta’s fault. Thus starts the never-ending cycle of doom for town hall versus the Junta that helps no one and improves nothing. Meanwhile, whole building sites fester away and mayors have no idea how to solve the issue decade after decade. Spain in a nutshell.