When the second most populous state in the United States was suffering from severe drought and needed tens of billions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure construction projects, Canadian firm PCL Constructors Inc moved in, applied its expertise and will likely reap mega-profits in the process.
Earlier this month, the Canadian civil engineering, heavy industrial and building company announced its intention to open a new Water Infrastructure Group office in Dallas, Texas, which the company says will directly target a growing number of projects aimed at producing clean drinking water for the state’s residents.
For PCL, a huge opportunity awaits. A 2012 State Water Plan from the Texas government makes no bones about the state’s water predicament. Having just gone through its worst one-year drought in history, the already-parched state’s existing water supplies are expected to dwindle by around 10 per cent between 2010 and 2060. Over that same timeframe, the state’s population is expected to grow by around 82 per cent from 25.4 million to 46.3 million, while water demand will rise 22 per cent to go from 18 million acre-feet year to 22 million acre-feet per year. Should nothing be done, in 50 years’ time, the state will be short of its requirements to the tune of 2.45 million acre-feet annually, resulting in economic losses of up to US$115.7 million each year and more than one million jobs.
To combat this, the state is spending US$53 billion on 562 unique water projects – and PCL is after a piece of the action. The company’s new regional office will also chase opportunities in Oklahoma and the Midwest in addition to PCL’s existing operations in other parts of the country through its offices in Phoenix and Tampa.
Already the largest general contracting firm in Canada and the sixth largest in the US, the PCL family of companies has extensive experience in water infrastructure, with key projects having included the San Juan Chama Water Treatment Plant, the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant in Arizona, the Tesla Treatment Facility in San Francisco and the San Jacinto Valley Regional Water Reclamation project in California.
For the state of Texas, the current water crisis represents an enormous challenge. For PCL, it’s a huge opportunity.
