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B.C. Development Projects Continue to Break Records

July 29, 2005

The number of major projects proposed or underway in British Columbia hit a record high in the second quarter of 2005.

Highlights from the June 2005 Major Projects Inventory:

  • 626 major capital projects, worth a record $78 billion, were planned or already underway in B.C. between April and June 2005.
  • The total number of projects is up 54, or nine per cent, over the quarter ending March 2005 and has increased by a total of 114, or 22 per cent, since December 2004.
  • The value of the projects listed in June’s inventory is up $10 billion, or 15 per cent, from March 2005 and up a total of $16 billion, or 26 per cent, from the quarter ending December 2004.

The B.C. Major Projects Inventory tracks major projects proposed, planned or underway in the province. Released quarterly, the inventory includes projects with a value of $20 million within the Lower Mainland and projects with a capital cost of $15 million in the rest of the province. The June 2005 issue of the Major Projects Inventory is available at www.gov.bc.ca/ecdev/down/mpi.pdf online.

Trends identified in the inventory are consistent with recent Statistics Canada data showing that B.C. accounted for Canada’s largest increase in total non-residential construction expenditures during the second quarter of 2005, compared to the first quarter. During this period, the value of non-residential building permits surged 19.1 per cent (to $932 million) in B.C., ahead of second-place Alberta’s increase of 13.4 per cent.
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Authorized By Jim Pipe, Financial Agent BC Liberal Party.
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