Editor’s note: This story is part of a series on the trends that will shape the industry in 2021. You can find all the articles on our trendline.
With a new year comes a new round of project completions, or at least project milestones. From airports to office buildings, the focus in 2021 will encompass a wide variety of construction undertakings as contractors fight to overcome the economic uncertainties brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.
While many large American projects are on the radar, some contractors that work in the U.S. also have major jobs underway in other countries. Here are a few international projects that the Construction Dive staff will be closely watching:
Hong Kong International Airport expansion
Contractor: Balfour Beatty
Location: Hong Kong, China
Cost: $1.6 billion
In August, Balfour Beatty announced that its joint venture, Gammon, was awarded a four-year, roughly $1.6 billion contract to expand Terminal 2 at Hong Kong International Airport, by the Airport Authority Hong Kong.
Gammon will be responsible for work on the main Terminal 2 building and construction of interconnecting bridges, mechanical and electrical works and associated roads.
The expansion of Terminal 2 forms part of the three-runway system project at the airport, which, upon completion, will allow for arrivals and departures from one terminal and increase overall passenger capacity. No completion date has been announced.
Victoria Cross Tower
Contractor: Lendlease
Location: Sydney, Australia
Cost: $1.2 billion
In July, Lendlease secured final development approval for a major transit-oriented commercial building in downtown Sydney, Australia. The 42-story tower will have room for up to 7,000 office workers inside approximately 600,000 square feet of premium office and retail space.
Beneath the tower, the retail space will connect with the Sydney Metro network, making it the biggest public transport project in Australia. The metro will be incorporated heavily in the tower’s design and development, according to the press release.
The project is on a three-year construction timeline, beginning early this year.
Al-Zour Mega Refinery
Contractor: Fluor
Location: Al-Zour, Kuwait
Cost: $16 billion
Fluor is leading the joint venture with Daewoo Engineering and Construction and Hyundai Heavy Industries that is working to deliver two engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction packages for the highly complex Al-Zour Refinery project in Kuwait. When finished, the refinery is expected to be one of the largest in the world and process 615,000 barrels of oil per day, more than doubling the nation’s processing capacity.
The JV was awarded the contract in 2015, and the first 14 of 188 prefabricated modules for the project arrived in Kuwait in June 2018. As of September, the JV had completed and handed over many facilities to the project owner.
Red Sea International Airport Expansion
Contractor: AECOM
Location: Saudi Arabia
Cost: Not disclosed
In December, Los Angeles-based AECOM signed with the Red Sea Development Co. to oversee work on the Red Sea International Airport Expansion project, Global Construction Review reported. U.K. architect Foster + Partners designed the expansion.
Announced in 2017, the Red Sea Development tourism project will cover 13,100 square miles on the Red Sea coast, and include attractions like coral reefs and dormant volcanoes across an archipelago of 90 islands. TRSDC hoped to award $2.7 billion in construction contracts by the end of 2020, Bloomberg reported.
Work will begin this month and is scheduled for completion in 2022, as part of plans to expand the airport by 2030, according to Global Construction Review.
P180 Office Building
Contractor: Skanska
Location: Warsaw, Poland
Cost: $94 million
In Warsaw, near metro stations and bus stops, Skanska is constructing the P180 office building. When finished, the building will comprise 15 floors and offer about 344,000 square feet of leasable space.
The building will be constructed in accordance with the WELL certification guidelines, which means the building will meet a number of strict criteria related to health, well-being and comfort at work, according to a release. It also will apply for LEED certification and the Building Without Barriers certificate.
Construction started in Q3 2020 and is scheduled for completion in Q3 2022.
