Mid-Atlantic Lays Claim to Majority of Pharma-Biotech's $3.5 Billion Investment in Construction Starts in First-Quarter 2014

Reported by Annette Kreuger, Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Virtually every region of North America is home to some form of construction activity sourced out of the Pharmaceutical-Biotech Industry, with plans to kick off $3.5 billion in the form of 165 projects in the first three months of the year. Laying claim to the biggest slice of that lucrative pie is the Mid-Atlantic region, with $783 million divided among 19 projects on the books for a first-quarter 2014 kickoff.

The Mid-Atlantic activity translates to healthy average project value of $41 million, thanks to the presence of several high-dollar projects. One of the largest is Colgate-Palmolive's (NYSE:CL) choice of Greenwood County, South Carolina, as the site for a $196 million investment to add a personal care-deodorant and soft soap plant. Colgate is renovating and equipping 530,000 square feet of the former Guardian Building in Hodges, with the majority of production equipment being transferred from the company's plant in Morristown, New Jersey. O'Neal Incorporated (Greenville, South Carolina) is overseeing design and construction management for the project, which is expected to begin later this month.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing pharmaceutical-biotech capital and maintenance (MRO) projects that are set to begin construction in first-quarter 2014.

Click here to gain instant access to the all-new 2014 North American Pharmaceutical-Biotech Outlook.

Next up is the Northeast, with a respectable $646 million invested in 16 first-quarter 2014 project starts. Leading the way in the region is AstraZeneca's (NYSE:AZN) multi-year plan to invest $100 million to renovate and upgrade its site in Newark, Delaware. CRB Consulting (Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania) handed the design and Len Lease (Princeton, New Jersey) is serving as construction manager for the project, which will boost production of tablets, injectables and oral liquid products. A March start is expected, with construction continuing through 2019 in a series of projects.

Rounding out the top three is the Southeast region, with $525 million divided among 19 project starts. The largest project in the region by far is Bristol-Myers Squibb's (NYSE:BMY) plans to invest $165 million to expand and renovate a plant in Humacao, Puerto Rico. The project team includes Stantec (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico), SMA Architects & Engineers LLP (San Juan, Puerto Rico) and Torcon Construction (Guaynabo, Puerto Rico).

A number of first-quarter 2014 projects already have begun construction, or in the case of MRO projects lasting a week or two, already are complete. As for the rest, there always remains the possibility that a number of them will be delayed, put on hold, or cancelled. The individual status of each of the 165 projects will be monitored for changes, just as other first-quarter 2014 projects will be added as they are uncovered.

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