Florida to See More than $1 Billion in Projects Kick Off in Next Three Months

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Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--According to Industrial Info's database, Florida is expected to see more than $1 billion in projects begin construction in the first quarter of 2015, with a major transmission project and the expansion of a fertilizer plant leading the way. Almost 90% of the activity can be found in three industries: Power, Chemical Processing and Industrial Manufacturing.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing planned first-quarter 2015 project kickoffs in Florida by industry.

The Power Industry alone accounts for $473 million of the spending on projects planned to kick off this quarter, or about 45%. One of the largest is Tampa Electric Company's $180 million construction of a 40-mile transmission line from the Polk Power Station, in southwestern Polk County, to the Fishhawk Substation, in southeastern Hillsborough County. Black & Veatch (Overland Park, Kansas) is performing engineering services for the project, which is expected to be completed in March. Tampa Electric is currently expanding the Polk Power Station.

Almost all of the Chemical Processing Industry's $249 million total is attributed to Mosaic Company's (NYSE:MOS) (Plymouth, Minnesota) $225 million expansion at the New Wales Fertilizer Plant in Mulberry. The project involves constructing two new warehouse buildings and installing new equipment to increase capacity to 3.5 million tonnes per year. The project is expected to be completed in the second quarter of 2016.

The Industrial Manufacturing Industry comes in third place with $217 million in projects set to kick off, including CSX Corporation's (NYSE:CSX) (Jacksonville, Florida) $98 million program to upgrade and rehabilitate Florida's state-wide freight rail network. The 2,800-mile project includes three rail yards, three intermodal terminals, four TRANSFLO terminals, four automotive distribution centers and all supporting equipment. The project is expected to be completed in December.

Of the remaining industries, Pharmaceutical & Biotech has the largest share of the total with $71 million in projects, $50 million of which is attributed to the University of South Florida's addition to its Health Heart Institute. The project involves the construction of a five-story, 100,000-square-foot building that will facilitate continuing research into disciplines such as regenerative medicine, genomics, vascular biology and diabetes.

About 90% of the $1 billion-plus total investment value for projects expected to kick off in Florida in the first quarter--$945 million--is attached to projects currently in the engineering stages. More than $87 million worth already are in the early construction stages, while $19 million worth are in the planning stages, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or totally eliminate the expected spending.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, three offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities.