New England Region to Enjoy Significant New Project Activity

Feb 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The New England region, comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont, is forecast for major new project activity in 2007, with a total of 161 currently active capital and MRO projects scheduled to begin in the next 12 months. The cumulative total investment value (TIV) of the 2007 projects is $9.1 billion — an impressive 90% increase over the reported projects scheduled to begin in 2006, with its reported total TIV of $4.8 billion spread over 139 individual projects. These projects include everything from the construction of grassroots plants to general upgrades and maintenance.

Massachusetts continues to lead the region in 2007, both in terms of spending and the number of project starts, with a total TIV of $5.2 billion spread over 64 scheduled projects. In terms of individual industry groups, the power sector is the region's unmistakable leader, with a total TIV of $3.5 billion spread over 47 individual projects scheduled for 2007. This is a change from 2006, when the pharmaceutical-biotech industry led with $2.9 billion in TIV sourced out to 18 projects. The majority of that spending was a result of the late 2006 launch of the massive Bristol-Myers Squibb project in Devens, Mass. After fierce competition from sites across the United States, Massachusetts emerged the victor for the new biologics facility that could eventually reach a TIV of $1.1 billion. (click here to see Chart)