Engineering, Construction & Real Estate

Stimulus to rev up infrastructure spending

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) may prove to be the best thing that has happened to the country’s infrastructure in a very long time. The Act provides for the allocation of $787 billion in the form of spending and tax incentives for rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure, creating jobs, and investing in energy efficiency. The Act covers 61 separate funding programs and projects in road, rail, public transit, rural transit, green energy, ports, and other segments. Another major area of focus is the construction of green buildings, which has received a further boost from the more recent cap-and-trade bill.

One segment that would greatly benefit from the successful implementation of the Recovery Act is the construction of commercial buildings. The Economic Stimulus Package and the Treasury Department’s Financial Stability Plan have identified the following funds, among others, available to boost the commercial buildings segment:

Funding Under the Commercial Buildings Segment

• $6.3 billion for energy-efficiency grant programs, including $3.2 billion for the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grants from the U.S. Department of Energy, and $3.1 billion for the State Energy Program
• $5 billion for the Weatherization Assistance Program
• $300 million for the Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate program and the ENERGY STAR® program
• $4.5 billion for Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability to modernize and improve the electricity grid
• $200 million for the clean-up of leaking underground storage tanks
• $4.5 billion to convert GSA (U.S. General Services Administration) facilities to high-performance green buildings

There are also various tax provisions that can benefit commercial building owners seeking to make their facilities more energy efficient. The stimulus funding to building infrastructure is summarized below:

Stimulus Funding for Building Infrastructure in the U.S. Under ARRA

The public share of healthcare expenditure in the U.S. (45%) is much lower than in any other member country of the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD), except Mexico, which is tied with the U.S.

(Source: OECD health data 2009, June 2009 Report on www.oecd.org/health.)