August 21 (SeeNews) - The number of building permits issued in Bulgaria in the second quarter of 2009 fell by 29.2% on the year to 3,071, the National Statistics Institute (NSI) said on Friday.
On a quarterly basis, the number of permits increased by 21.5%, NSI said in a statement.
The permits issued for housing projects in the April-June period rose 24.6% from the previous quarter to 1,832.
The permits issued in the second quarter covered the construction of 4,506 apartments with a combined built-up area of some 637,500 square metres, compared to apartments with a total area of 890,000 square metres for which permits were issued in the previous quarter.
The Bulgarian construction industry, which was booming in recent years, has been hit hard by the global financial crisis.