- There was a 35 percent increase in the number of new
building starts in the settlements in 2003, figures published Tuesday by
the Central Bureau of Statistics show.
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- The settlements were one of just two areas to see an
increase in construction activity last year. Work began on just 29,670
new apartments around the country in 2003 - the lowest number since 1989
and 8 percent down on the previous year. The CBS figures show that the
building industry is sinking deeper into crisis.
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- The only other place to see a spurt in building activity
was Haifa where there was work began on 3,238 new apartments, an increase
of 5 percent on the previous year.
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- Tel Aviv and the south of the country saw the sharpest
fall in the number of building starts, 23 percent down on 2002 in both
areas, while in Jerusalem the number of building starts fell 15 percent.
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- The last quarter of 2003 was the sixth consecutive quarter
to see a fall in the number of building starts. This figure fell by a total
of 14 percent in the second half of 2003 compared to the first half of
the year. Most of the new buildings, 22,310, were private projects (a 10
percent fall on 2002) while 7,360 apartments were for public housing (a
fall of 5 percent on the previous year).
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- Some 33,500 apartments were completed in 2003, down 13
percent on 2002. This is the lowest number for apartments completed since
1990. The last quarter of 2003 was also the seventh consecutive quarter
to see a fall in the number of projects completed.
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