Central African Republic

Dealing with Construction Permits in

Central African Republic

Listed below is detailed summary of the procedures, time and costs to build a warehouse —including obtaining necessary licenses and permits, completing required notifications and inspections and obtaining utility connections. 

The information appearing on this page was collected as part of the Doing Business project, which measures and compares regulations relevant to the life cycle of a small- to medium-sized domestic business in 183 economies. The most recent round of data collection for the project was completed in June 2011.

  • Building a warehouse

  • Estimated Warehouse Value: XAF 390,180,000
  • City: Bangui

About This Topic

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No. Procedure Time to Complete Associated Costs
1 Obtain a building permit

Ranging from XAF 5,000 to XAF 30,000, 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.

Agency: Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
90 days XAF 20,000
* 2 Request a provisional authorization upon expiration of the 30-day deadline



Agency: Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
20 days no charge
3 Request from the urban planning authority an inspection of earthwork



Agency: Urban planning authority (Direction de l’urbanisme), Building permit service
1 day no charge
4 Receive inspection of earthwork

The inspection takes place within a week of notification.

Agency: Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
1 day no charge
5 Request from authorities an inspection of foundation work



Agency: Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
1 day no charge
6 Receive foundation inspection and obtain clearance to continue with construction

The inspection takes place within a week of notification.

Agency: Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
7 days no charge
7 Request from authorities an inspection of concrete work



Agency: Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
1 day no charge
8 Receive inspection of concrete work and obtain clearance to continue with construction



Agency: Urban planning authority (Service de l’urbanisme)
21 days no charge
9 Receive labor inspection

In principle, the labor inspector may visit the site at any time. In practice, BuildCo may be inspected twice.

Agency: Labor Ministry
1 day no charge
10 Receive labor inspection



Agency: Labor Ministry
1 day no charge
11 Receive final inspection at the end of work

The inspection takes place any time from 1 to 30 days after the notification.

Agency: Building permit commission
1 day no charge
12 Obtain inspection certificate



Agency: Building permit commission
37 days no charge
* 13 Request water connection



Agency: Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
1 day XAF 4,060
* 14 On-site visit for cost estimate

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.

Agency: Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
1 day no charge
* 15 Obtain water connection

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.

Agency: Société de Distribution d’Eaux en Centrafrique (SODECA)
75 days XAF 188,210
* 16 Request phone line



Agency: Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
1 day no charge
* 17 On-site visit for cost estimate

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).



Agency: Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
1 day no charge
* 18 Obtain phone line

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.

Agency: Société Centrafricaine de Télécommunication (Socatel)
34 days XAF 35,400
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.