Greater Houston Home to Billions' Worth of Q3 Project Kickoffs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--The Greater Houston area, which encompasses nine counties and covers 10,000 square miles, is a hub of industrial activity. Industrial Info is tracking $11.5 billion worth of projects that are expected to kick off construction during the third quarter in the Greater Houston area, with about 30% of the spend attributed to projects with a medium and high probability (70-99%) of moving forward as planned.

Construction projects in the Greater Houston area run the gamut from chemical and manufacturing facilities to energy-related activity.

In the chemical sector, groundbreaking and construction are expected to begin next quarter for LyondellBasell Industries NV's (NYSE:LYB) (Rotterdam, Netherlands) $400 million addition of a metathesis unit in Channelview, Texas, which will convert ethylene to produce an estimated 882 million pounds per year of propylene. The propylene will be used in the production of polypropylene and propylene oxide, which are key materials in products such as food packaging, medical devices, automotive components and building insulation, among other end products.

Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Chemical Processing Project Database can click here to read detailed information on the project, which is expected to wrap up in late 2028.

Another chemical-related project set to kick off is China-based Guangzhou Tinci Materials Technology's $180 million grassroot lithium battery electrolyte plant in Baytown. Lithium-ion batteries use electrolytes to move lithium ions between the battery's cathode and anode, the metallic electrodes of batteries. Subscribers can click here to read more information on the project, which is expected to wrap up in 2027.

Manufacturing-related projects include Tesla Incorporated's (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Austin, Texas) $200 million conversion of a warehouse in Brookshire, about 40 miles west of Houston in Waller County, into a facility for manufacturing the company's Megapack lithium-ion batteries used in battery energy storage systems (BESS). The installation of equipment and systems necessary for the conversion at the warehouse, which sits on a 1 million-square-foot tract of land, accounts for $150 million of the project investment; the remaining roughly $50 million is attributed to improvements such as HVAC. Subscribers to the GMI Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can click here for more information on the project, which is expected to wrap up in 2026.

Earlier this year, Waller County officials approved a 60% property tax abatement for 10 years for the project, subject to agreed-upon terms: Tesla must employ at least 1,500 people by 2028; the company must also have a minimum of $75 million in taxable inventory by year one of the agreement (beginning January 1, 2026). This minimum will increase to $300 million by the end of year three.

Also set to kick off next quarter and wrap up in 2026 is the third segment of a major multi-phase expansion ("Project 11") of the Houston Ship Channel. The project's Expansion 3 involves widening the existing channel at the Barbours Cut Terminal from 300 feet to approximately 455 feet, among other work. Subscribers can click here to read the project report.

Project 11 (P11), which is expected to be fully completed in 2029, is designed to widen the channel by 170 feet along its Galveston Bay reach, from 530 feet to 700 feet. It also entails deepening some upstream segments, making other safety and efficiency improvements, and adding new environmental features. Click here for a full list of projects that are tied to Project 11.

Delegates from the United Kingdom, Panama and Guyana visited with port leadership earlier this year "to discuss infrastructure investment, progress on Project 11 to deepen and widen the Houston Ship Channel, and sustainable supply chain development," according to a press release.

Other Greater Houston projects expected to kick off next quarter include the construction of a 101.63-megawatt BESS unit (Callisto II) in Harris County, worth more than $100 million in project investment. Subscribers to the Power GMI Database can click here for the project report.

Subscribers to the GMI Project Database can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Click here for a full list of projects in the Greater Houston area that are expected to kick off from July through September.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).