Colombia. According to information published by the National Administrative Department of Statistics (Dane), construction licenses for offices grew by 51.2 percent in 2014, to reach almost two million square meters of new properties of this type; this contrasts with the nearly 1.2 million square meters approved for office construction in 2013.
On the other hand, the sectors of commerce and hospital facilities also presented a significant increase, of 11.1 percent for the first and 9.2 percent for the second. Meanwhile, the square meters for works for hotels decreased 2.6 percent.
In total, the construction licenses approved during 2014 showed an increase of 2.4 percent to reach 25 million square meters approved, of which 18 million correspond to the residential sector.
However, there was an overall fall of 0.5 in the area destined for residential properties, which is explained by the 18.8 percent reduction in the licensing of Social Interest Housing (VIS), despite the fact that approvals for the non-VIS residential sector increased by 9.2 percent.
