MAJOR PROJECTS
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The UK construction industry is expected to grow by 2-3% over the next couple of years. Kit contractors warn that Government cuts in road spending and a slowdown in the housing sector are jeopardising recovery and a hike in interest rates could tip the industry back into the trough.A few major projects underway or in the pipeline may compensate For cutbacks elsewhere.
These schemes include • London Underground Jubilee Line: Extension project worth £1.7bn.
• M25 widening: Junctions 7-8 (£46m); 10-11 (235m); 15-16 (£40m); and 8-10 (£92m). DOT plans for £165m link roads between the M3 and M4 (Junctions 12-15) creating a 14-lane superhighway have been put back with the postponement of a public inquiry until 1995.
• Heathrow-Paddington Express: This £300m rail link is due to be completed in 1996. • Cardiff Bay Barrage: Work has begun on the £150m barrage which is expected to unleash a £1bn flood of associated development. But hauliers are sceptical of the gains for tippermen as much of the material will be transported by sea. • Channel Tunnel Rail Link: The £3bn "fast" link project is unlikely to start before 1996/97.
• Sizewell C: A £1bn project which may not materialise. • Nirex nuclear waste storage site: This would require a hole bigger than the Channel Tunnel but is unlikely to materialise this century.