Industry Analysis & Industry Trends
The industry is responsible for the construction of much of the infrastructure for the capture, transport and storage of water and sewage. This includes the construction of long-distance gravity pipes for water, storm water and sewage; the construction of pumping plants and reservoirs; and the construction of pressure pipes and urban pipeline systems for sewer systems and the distribution of portable drinking water, other household water and industrial water.
The total UK market for the construction of water and sewerage infrastructure totals about £4.1 billion including the maintenance and repair of existing assets. Over the five years through 2012-13, the value of water supply construction is expected to surge by an annualised... purchase to read more
Industry Report - Starting a New Business Chapter
The industry has medium barriers to the entry of new competitors, given that scale economies are not significant, construction activity is spread across many narrow geographic markets, there are no dominant players across the national market and the required capital equipment may be leased or supplied by subcontractors. However, new entrants may be disadvantaged by the technical complexity of some contracts and the trend towards awarding long-term facilities management contracts, which tends to exclude inexperienced contractors.
The economies of scale are limited in the industry due to the geographic dispersal of contracts and new entrants can generally compete effectively on smaller-scale local contracts, particularly maintenance and repair work on water and sewer pipelines... purchase to read more