The Planning Authority (PA) approved 829 planning permissions in March, of which 730 were apartments, according to statistics issued by the same authority.

Of the remaining planning permissions approved, 63 were maisonettes, 32 were terraced houses and four were listed under the 'other' category.

This was an increase of 58 permits, over the previous month of February. 

The Malta Independent had reported that the PA had churned out no less than 12,485 dwelling applications in 2019. This was one of the highest number of dwelling permits approved in the space of a year since 2000.

According to statistics published by the PA, the highest-ever number of planning applications approved was recorded in 2018, at a staggering 12,885. In 2019, apartments accounted for 85% of all dwelling permits approved.

In 2019, nearly 28% of dwellings are being developed on virgin land, an increase from 24% in 2018. This percentage has decreased significantly since 2000 when the percentage stood at 70%.

This signifies that in 2019, 72.1% of the dwellings given permits, were to be constructed on already developed land.