Construction of 74 Industrial Projects Expected to Kick Off in Europe During Second Half of 2008

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction is expected to commence on 74 industrial projects across Europe during the second half of 2008, according to project activity reported as part of Industrial Info's International Project Database. The projects are spread out across seven major industries: Terminals; Pulp, Paper & Wood; Power; Pharmaceutical & Biotech; Petroleum Refining; Metals & Minerals; and Chemical Processing. The total investment value (TIV) of the combined projects is approximately $30.8 billion. The majority of the spending will come from the Power Industry with $25.8 billion worth of planned investment and distantly followed by the Chemical Processing Industry (CPI) with $1.6 billion earmarked for construction in the last half of the year. The Petroleum Refining Industry is nipping at the heels of the CPI with $1.1 billion worth of planned investment.

Click on the image to see a breakdown of industrial projects expected to kick off in Europe.

The United Kingdom will host the majority of projects with 18 projects planned, and there is a four-way tie for second between Belgium, France, Germany and Portugal, each with seven planned projects. With just seven projects planned to kick off in the second half of this year so far in France, currently it will receive the largest sum of investment with more than $15 billion directed toward its heavy industry sector. Italy and Spain each have five planned construction projects for the second half of 2008 with a combined TIV of only a "meager" $725 million.

Of the 18 projects planned for the United Kingdom, 11 will be in the Power Industry. The largest of these projects is E.ON UK PLC's (Coventry, United Kingdom) Drakelow grassroot 1,200-megawatt (MW) natural gas-fired combined-cycle power plant. This project will require a whopping $950 million to engineer and construct. It is expected to be online during late 2011 or early 2012. Another large Power Industry development will be PX Limited's (Stockton on Tees, United Kingdom) Stockton Seal Sands grassroot 1,020-MW natural gas-fired combined-cycle power station. This new site is expected to cost approximately $850 million to design and construct with an expected start date in the first quarter of 2012. Five windfarms are planned for construction in the United Kingdom and one 20-MW wave hub, as well.

Over the past few years, the United Kingdom has been taking a strong stance and developing a leadership role toward "green" energy production, utilizing its island geography to take advantage of wind and tidal power. On the other side of the spending scale, SGL Technic Limted (Inverness, United Kingdom) plans to invest $40 million into a third carbon fiber production line. It will be built at its existing facility in Inverness and should be operational by the spring or summer of 2009. Carbon fibers are used in the manufacturing of aircraft, so maybe SGL will sell some of the new capacity to France's Airbus-manufacturing sites.

Of the $15 billion expected to be invested in France's heavy industry sector, $12 billion will be dedicated to the design and construction of a Pilot grassroot 500-MW nuclear fusion power station sponsored by ITER Garching JWS (Garching, Germany). The plant is to be constructed in Cadarache, France, at the Cadarache Nuclear Studies Center. The project is expected to take eight years to construct, so it is estimated to be online sometime during the first half of 2016. Golar LNG Limited (London) plans to construct a $600 million LNG floating storage and regasification unit (FSRU) with a capacity of more than 400 MMSCFD of natural gas send-out capacity. Currently, the plans are to convert an LNG carrier into this unit.

Germany will see an investment of approximately $3.2 billion in its heavy industry sector during the second half of 2008 with $2 billion of the total to be split between two power projects. Germany's chemical sector will invest $655 million split among three projects in Frankfurt and Dormagen. Containerboard manufacturer Papierfabrik Hamburger-Spremberg GmbH & Company KG (Spremberg, Germany) plans to add a $260 million paper machine to produce 450,000 tons per year of white- and brown-grade corrugated case material, as well as a 110-MW power plant to supply electricity to the mill and the local grid.

Thirty-two of the projects set to begin construction during the second half of this year have an engineering firm, if not an engineering and construction firm, already assigned to the projects. Portugal has the highest amount of projects with an assigned contractor with seven. Six of the projects are in the Petroleum Refining sector and carry a combined TIV of $380 million. All of these projects will take place at Galp Energia SGPS SA's (Lisboa, Portugal) Lisboa site.

Europe is showing that it intends to keep pace with global industrial growth with more than $30 billion to be invested in just the second half of 2008. Some delays might occur in the construction starts of these projects because of the worldwide shortage of skilled labor and backorders of equipment. The European Union continues to affirm its economic strength, and the euro, which appreciated more than 10% compared with the U.S. dollar in 2007, continues its rise.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading marketing information services company for the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy-related markets throughout the world. Celebrating its 25th anniversary, IIR provides accurate and timely intelligence featuring plant and project information databases, focused market databases, industry forecasting, key industry contacts, industry and territorial map products, direct marketing services and applications, and daily industry news.