Traffic in Dubai is still nightmarish by most standards, but it is starting to lighten as foreign professionals leave the country amid layoffs and cancelled or halted construction projects. “There is no question that Dubai has slowed down,” says one American architect working in the region. “Everyone is seeing the impacts of the global crisis now.” Photo: Michael Goodman/ENR Slowing down: A transportation hub being built in 2006 in a Dubai traffic circle. Related Links: Destination Dubai: The Mideast’s Boom So dramatically has the crisis hit in the United Arab Emirate that new urban legends have sprouted, replacing previous tales
The dollar value of all new construction starts declined 15% in 2008, according to McGraw-Hill Construction’s year-end tally of the market, which it estimated reached $542.83 billion last year. The entire decline can be tied to the 39% drop in the value of residential building starts. The nonresidential building market ended the year with a 1% increase, while nonbuilding construction rose 4% last year. But nonresidential building was skewed by four massive oil refineries that were started last year. If those projects were excluded, the nonresidential market would have declined by 5% last year, says Robert Murray, MHC’s chief economist.
President Barack Obama, speaking before signing his historic stimulus measure in Denver, proclaimed it to be the “largest investment in our infrastructure since Eisenhower built the interstate highway system.” That may be so, but with most of the stimulus directed toward infrastructure, the news isn’t uniformly good. Just minutes before Obama spoke, Blake Jones, CEO of Namaste Solar Electric Inc., said “thousands of electricians and plumbers and carpenters...that have been laid off should consider joining us in the solar industry.” The increase in roads will be moderate, the falloff in nonpublic buildings steep. Those comments suggested the diverging fortunes of
The waiting went on and on as anxious construction industry and state officials watched for months for glimmers of progress in Washington on a bill that they hoped would ease the recession’s tightening grip. On Feb. 17, the long wait ended as President Obama traveled to Denver and signed what he called "the most sweeping economic recovery package in our history," the $787.2-billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Photo: AP/Wideworld Obama at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science with its solar energy. Related Links: View ENR.com Coverage of Economic Stimulus View Complete Economic Stimulus Special Section AP/Wideworld Obama signs the
A $787-billion economic stimulus package is heading to the White House for President Barack Obama’s signature following final congressional approval of the huge package of federal spending and tax breaks. The bill includes an estimated $130 billion in spending for construction programs as well as tax incentives that also will give the industry a boost. High-speed rail systems were surprise winners in final stimulus bill. Related Links: State by State Project Data Video: The Stimulus Highways and Bridges By State One surprise winner in what Congress approved is high-speed rail, which received $9.3 billion in funding. A big loser was
The Stimulus Bill Compromise, Sector by Sector 02/13/2009 Compiled by Tom Ichniowski Here is a breakdown of construction-related spending in the $789-billion economic stimulus package, based on a summary released Feb. 12, about 3 p.m., by the House and Senate Appropriations Committees. The committees said that the package, titled the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, included $311 billion in new federal appropriations, or about 39% of the overall $789-billion measure. ENR estimates the bill's allotment for construction-related spending at $131 billion. A more precise number cannot be determined. Why? First, some capital-spending funding in the bill can be used to
A mammoth economic-stimulus measure has advanced on its long, winding path through Congress, with the Senate’s approval on Feb. 10 of a $838.2-billion package that was pared back from an earlier version. The cuts that were needed to win enough votes to pass the bill included about $27 billion in construction funds. That left the final Senate bill with about $133 billion for construction programs, compared with about $160 billion in the bill as it cleared committee. The major construction casualty came in school-construction aid, where lawmakers deleted all $19.5 billion the original bill had recommended for K-12 and college
Congressional negotiators have struck a deal on a compromise, $787-billion economic-stimulus bill, said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.). The measure is smaller than the $819.5-billion package that the House approved on Jan. 28 and the $838-billion measure that the Senate passed Feb. 10. Sen. Collins opposed precedent of funding school construction. Reid said at a Feb. 11 afternoon press conference in the Capitol that differences between the house and senate bills were "resolved." He added, "The bills were really quite similar. And I'm pleased to announce we've been able to bridge those differences." Technically, the deal is not yet
Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has unveiled a sweeping plan to loosen up the still-tight credit markets. The plan, announced on Feb. 10, aims to restore lenders’ confidence and make it easier for small businesses, real estate firms and other potential borrowers to obtain loans. “Our plan will help restart the flow of credit, clean up and strengthen our banks and provide critical aid for homeowners and small business,” Geithner said. A key component of the plan is expanding the Federal Reserve’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) from $200 billion to as much as $1 trillion. The Fed launched TALF
The Senate has approved an $838.2-billion economic stimulus bill by a 61-37 vote. The margin was slightly higher than the 60-vote minimum needed for approval, as Republicans Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe, both of Maine, and Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, joined all 58 Democrats to vote for the bill. The Senate package now must be reconciled with the estimated $819.5-billion stimulus measure that the House passed on Jan. 28. The House bill has about $160 billion for construction programs and the Senate's contains about $130 billion. Shortly after the vote the Senate quickly named its representatives to the conference with the
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