Dealing with Construction Permits in
Guinea-Bissau
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:
XOF 110,551,000
- City: Bissau
| No. |
Procedure |
Time to Complete |
Associated Costs |
| 1 |
Request a concession and location plan from Municipality
All land is state owned. When BuildCo requests the land, it must define the purpose. This concession plan is valid for only 2 years. If the company has the land and changes the use or does not build within those 2 years, the document ceases to be valid. After this document is requested, the municipality visits the site to define the land borders. Then the municipality issues the location plan and the concession statement. The investor does not request the location plan itself; it is issued when the concession plan is requested. The location plan is valid only in conjunction with the concession statement. There are several location plans for the same land with different names (owners), so the concession statement is necessary. The investor must visit the municipality frequently to make sure that the document is issued in a timely manner. If the investor does not follow the process, it can take 1 year or even 5 years to get the land.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 2 |
Receive inspection from Municipality to obtain concession and location plan
After documents have been requested from the municipality, inspectors visit the site to define the land borders.
Agency: Municipality
|
14 days
|
no charge
|
| 3 |
Obtain concession and location plan from Municipality
In 2006/07, the time increased to 1.5 months, on average, for the whole process, from requesting to obtaining the plans. The longer time line is the result of an increase in demand for these services and a backlog.
The rates depend on the location of the land (see rates table). In the case considered here, the cost should be around XOF 2,340,000 (assuming that the building is situated in a periurban area and is to be used for commerce or service activity)
Agency: Municipality
|
30 days
|
XOF 2,340,000
|
| 4 |
Submit plans to Municipality and obtain approval
BuildCo must submit the architectural, structural, and sanitary plans, along with a statement from the architect, a liability statement from the architect who produced the plans, and a request from the landowner. The city council meets every week to approve the plans. However, due to a backlog it takes on average 30 days for approval. For the plans to be approved, BuildCo must continuously check the status of the process with the municipality. The plan approval commission meets every Friday. The commission may revise the plans (especially the structural plan), but the plans hardly ever need to be resubmitted.
In the pre-approval stage, there is no need to submit approved technical conditions from the water and sewerage, telephone, and electricity services to the municipality.
After the plans are approved, the company must pay for the issuance of the building permit. The approval is done in the previous procedure. Therefore it does not take more than a day.
The company can request a permit for 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. It is cheaper to request a 3-month permit and request renewals. The cost of the license depends on construction duration, area, and perimeter. The cost of permit for a 300- to 400-sq.-m. building would be around XOF 200,000.
As soon BuildCo obtains the building permit, construction can start without any notification from the authorities.
Agency: Municipality
|
31 days
|
XOF 200,000
|
| 5 |
Receive inspection from Municipality - I
The municipality establishes the land boundaries at the beginning of construction. It is normal for the municipal inspector to visit the site to check whether there is a building permit and whether acceptable construction practices are being followed. On average, the company should expect three inspections during the whole cycle. No prior request is required.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 6 |
Receive inspection from Municipality - II
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 7 |
Receive inspection from Municipality - III
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| 8 |
Request and receive connection to telephone services from Guinée Telecom
It is difficult to obtain a telephone line. The actual connection is not time consuming, but getting a line can take 1.5 months or more (subject to availability).
Agency: Guinée Telecom
|
90 days
|
XOF 50,000
|
| * 9 |
Request and obtain approval of water plans from EAGB
The full process, from getting approval of the plans (both for water and electricity) until the connection is completed, takes 2–3 weeks if BuildCo follows up consistently. Otherwise it takes 1–1.5 months. The approvals for water and electricity connection can be requested simultaneously, but they are processed by different institutions: the State Secretariat of Energy for electricity and the EGB for water. The applications for water and electricity are both submitted to the EGB. There are inspections both for water and for electricity.
Agency: EGB
|
5 days
|
no charge
|
| * 10 |
Receive water inspection from EAGB
The inspection takes place after the application and before the actual connection.
Agency: EGB
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
| * 11 |
Connect to water services from EAGB
The connection takes, on average, 20 days
Agency: EGB
|
24 days
|
no charge
|
| 12 |
Request and obtain occupancy permit
For BuildCo to obtain an occupancy permit, the law requires the municipality to visit the building at the end of construction to check whether it was built according to plan. It will then issue an occupancy permit.
Agency: Municipality
|
1 day
|
no charge
|
* Takes place simultaneously with another procedure.