The 60 steps needed to start a project and the slow pace of approvals is exasperating the sector, which fears a decline in foreign investment if the situation does not change.

According to entrepreneurs, reviewing and approving a building plan takes six institutions between five and nine months, while approving an environmental impact study can take up to twelve months.

Construction and development companies want the number of steps to be reduced and for approval times to be sped up. In order to do this, the executive director of the National Council of Housing Promoters (Convivienda), Elisa Suarez Gomez announced that “… in the coming weeks a technical committee will be formed, in charge of evaluating these 60 requirements, together with all of the institutions. ”

In this country where construction grew by almost 8% in the first quarter of the year, digitization is not part of the processes in the sector. This is precisely one of the proposals from the private sector as it would expedite and better organise review and approval processes. In the view of Roderick McGowen, president of the Panamanian Chamber of Construction (Capac), “… ‘That, in the end, would be the perfect scenario, because it allows documents to be followed up on better.'”

Martesfinanciero.com reports that “… The amount and time required to comply with the procedures can cause investors to lose interest in doing business, highlights Fernando Montoya, general manager of Amarilo Panama. Montoya is in favor of reviewing the procedures and requirements for building. He believes that the most important thing is to check the execution times, as they are extensive and are not complied with.