Top 10 U.S. Counties, Parishes Take Up $25 Billion in Fourth-Quarter 2015 Project Kickoffs

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--Construction is set to kick off this quarter for U.S. projects valued at $80.73 billion, but more than a fourth of that amount comes from just six counties, three parishes and one independent city, according to data tracked by Industrial Info. The jurisdictions are home to 39 projects, worth a total of $25.42 billion, which are expected to kick off in fourth-quarter 2015. The projects range from coal-gasification plants to mass transit rail extensions. Some of the projects are still in the planning phases, where plenty of factors could increase, decrease or totally eliminate the expected spending.

The City of Baltimore, Maryland is independent of any county, making it the equivalent of a county onto itself. As such, it is home to four projects, valued at $4.95 billion that are slated for fourth-quarter kickoffs. The largest of these is the Maryland Transit Administration's $2.57 billion Red Line rail expansion. Jacobs Engineering Group Incorporated (NYSE:JEC) (Houston, Texas) and STV Group (Douglassville, Pennsylvania) have been performing preliminary engineering on the project, which includes construction of 14.1 miles of rail line connecting several parts of the city. Passenger rail projects often can face lengthy delays due to the vagaries of government funding and other issues. For more details on this project, see Industrial Info's project report.

In Texas, Ector County is slated to see kickoffs for three projects worth $3.7 billion, including a highly anticipated, $3.5 billion coal gasification plant in Penwell by Summit Power Group Incorporated (Seattle, Washington). The project has been subject to several timeline pushbacks over the past six years. If all goes according to plan, the project could see completion in fourth-quarter 2018.

Project consultants include Technip USA Incorporated (Houston, Texas) and Siemens AG (NYSE:SI). For more details on this project, see Industrial Info's project report.

Indiana's Vermillion County has just one project, but it is valued at $3 billion. The Newport coal liquefaction plant by Clean Coal Refining Corporation (Wilmington, Delaware) and Newport Chemical Depot Reuse Authority (Clinton, Indiana) would process 2.5 million tonnes of coal per year into 8 million barrels of diesel fuel per day. This project also has seen many kickoff pushbacks, having been in the planning stages since at least 2010. Completion is set for the end of 2017. For details on this project, see Industrial Info's project report.

Other top counties and parishes include:

• King County, Washington, with five projects worth $2.85 billion
• Cameron Parish, Louisiana, with one project worth $2.56 billion
• Rapides Parish, Louisiana, with four projects worth $2.47 billion
• Dade County, Florida, with six projects worth $1.78 billion
• Umatilla County, Oregon, with four projects worth $1.40 billion
• Malheur County, Oregon, with one project worth $1.40 billion
• Saint Charles Parish, Louisiana, with 10 projects worth $1.37 billion

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and ten 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.