Dealing with Construction Permits in the Central African Republic

The table below summarizes the procedures, time, and costs to build a warehouse in Central African Republic.

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Building a warehouse

Data as of: January 2009
Estimated Warehouse Value: XAF 390,180,000
City: Bangui

Requirements Summary:


  Procedure Time to complete: Cost to complete:
1 Obtain a building permit 90 days XAF 9,000
*2 Request a provisional authorization upon expiration of the 30-day deadline 20 days no charge
3 Request from the urban planning authority an inspection of earthwork 1 day no charge
4 Receive inspection of earthwork 1 day no charge
5 Request from authorities an inspection of foundation work 1 day no charge
6 Receive foundation inspection and obtain clearance to continue with construction 7 days no charge
7 Request from authorities an inspection of concrete work 1 day no charge
8 Receive inspection of concrete work and obtain clearance to continue with construction 21 days no charge
9 Receive labor inspection 1 day no charge
10 Receive labor inspection 1 day no charge
11 Receive final inspection at the end of work 1 day no charge
12 Obtain inspection certificate 37 days no charge
*13 Request water connection 1 day XAF 4,060
*14 On-site visit for cost estimate 1 day no charge
*15 Obtain water connection 75 days XAF 188,210
*16 Request electricity connection 1 day XAF 6,040
*17 On-site visit for cost estimate 1 day no charge
*18 Obtain electricity connection 44 days XAF 300,000
*19 Request phone line 1 day no charge
*20 On-site visit for cost estimate 1 day no charge
*21 Obtain phone line 34 days XAF 35,400
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.

Requirement Details

Procedure 1.
Obtain a building permit
Time to complete:
90 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 9,000
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
Comment:
Ranging from XAF 3,000 to XAF 15,000, building permit fees are paid upfront upon application. The file is transmitted to the following agencies for review and approval: - Urban Planning Authority (Direction de L’Urbanisme), for assurance of compliance with urban planning regulations. - Cadastral Office, for review of the cadastral excerpts. - Municipal Public Roads Office (Service de Voirie), for water supply and sanitary conditions. - Land Registry (Direction des Domaines), for the verification of property registration. In practice, a commission (with a representative from each agency) meets to review the file at the same time. If the architect is diligent and closely follows the file, the permit can be obtained in 30 days. By law, the official deadline is 30 days. When this date has passed, BuildCo requests a provisional authorization while awaiting the Ministry of Housing (Ministre de l’Habitat) decree that grants the building permit.
Procedure 2.
Request a provisional authorization upon expiration of the 30-day deadline
Time to complete:
20 days
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
Comment:
Procedure 3.
Request from the urban planning authority an inspection of earthwork
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
Comment:
Procedure 4.
Receive inspection of earthwork
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
Comment:
The inspection takes place within a week of notification.
Procedure 5.
Request from authorities an inspection of foundation work
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
Comment:
Procedure 6.
Receive foundation inspection and obtain clearance to continue with construction
Time to complete:
7 days
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
Comment:
The inspection takes place within a week of notification.
Procedure 7.
Request from authorities an inspection of concrete work
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
Comment:
Procedure 8.
Receive inspection of concrete work and obtain clearance to continue with construction
Time to complete:
21 days
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
Comment:
Procedure 9.
Receive labor inspection
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Labor Ministry
Comment:
In principle, the labor inspector may visit the site at any time. In practice, BuildCo may be inspected twice.
Procedure 10.
Receive labor inspection
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Labor Ministry
Comment:
Procedure 11.
Receive final inspection at the end of work
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Building permit commission
Comment:
The inspection takes place any time from 1 to 30 days after the notification.
Procedure 12.
Obtain inspection certificate
Time to complete:
37 days
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Building permit commission
Comment:
Procedure 13.
Request water connection
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
XAF 4,060
Name of Agency:
Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
Comment:
Procedure 14.
On-site visit for cost estimate
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
Comment:
Upon submitting the application dossier, the applicant arranges for an on-site visit to take measurements, establish the technical specifications, and estimate the cost. The cost estimate is provided to the client 2 days later. In principle, there are no fees. Because transportation is generally unavailable, to expedite the work, a client may pay for the transportation cost.
Procedure 15.
Obtain water connection
Time to complete:
75 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 188,210
Name of Agency:
Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
Comment:
Payment occurs after the cost estimate, and the connection follows immediately. If the applicant does not follow up on the application, obtaining the connection and service may take up to 3 months.
Procedure 16.
Request electricity connection
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
XAF 6,040
Name of Agency:
Société ENERCA
Comment:
Procedure 17.
On-site visit for cost estimate
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Société ENERCA
Comment:
Procedure 18.
Obtain electricity connection
Time to complete:
44 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 300,000
Name of Agency:
Société ENERCA
Comment:
The connecting fee will be determined according to ENERCA’s cost estimate. The cost varies, depending on the distance from the building to the network and the equipment used. The payment occurs after the cost estimate is established and is followed immediately by the final connection. If the applicant does not follow up on the application, the connection will never be obtained.
Procedure 19.
Request phone line
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
Comment:
Procedure 20.
On-site visit for cost estimate
Time to complete:
1 day
Cost to complete:
no charge
Name of Agency:
Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
Comment:
In principle, there are no fees. Because transportation is generally unavailable, to expedite the work, a client may pay the transportation cost (about XAF 2,000–XAF 5,000).

Procedure 21.
Obtain phone line
Time to complete:
34 days
Cost to complete:
XAF 35,400
Name of Agency:
Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
Comment:
Payment occurs after the cost estimate, and the connection follows immediately. If the applicant does not follow up on the application, obtaining the connection and service may take up to 3 months.