High material prices have driven the cost of home construction higher, dampening the effect of low interest rates. New units constructed have remained flat through the third quarter of 2021 while price-per-unit rose. Mat-Su continued to add housing at a higher rate than other regions.

Housing demand in the Fairbanks area will continue to reflect the Eielson Air Force Base F-35 fighter installment through 2022.

Three factors drive most petroleum-related construction spending: oil prices, exploration, and oilfield development. The oil industry is still recovering from 2020’s historic low oil prices and volatility through 2021. In 2022, Hilcorp and ConocoPhillips will continue to maintain and update infrastructure on the North Slope and in Cook Inlet. ConocoPhillips’ Willow project is delayed; no construction spending is anticipated for 2022. Longer-term prospects also include Santos’ Pikka project.

Alaska’s six large mines all plan 2022 expenditures for projects such as tailings expansions, water management, and camp improvements. Construction work for Kinross’ Manh Choh project in Tetlin is slated for late 2022. The Ambler Access Road project continues to move forward, with right-of-way for federal lands granted in 2021. The Donlin Gold project is progressing though no major construction spending is expected in 2022.

While the 2021 season was a welcome improvement over 2020, Alaska’s visitor industry continued to see fewer-than-normal cruise passengers. Visitor volume in 2022 looks strong, but the pace of new investment may be slow. Investments by Norwegian Cruise Lines in Juneau, Whittier, and Hoonah are among the largest visitor-related projects anticipated in the near-term. Other planned visitor-related spending includes new development in Sitka and Healy and completion of an Anchorage hotel. Routine maintenance investment is expected at many of Alaska’s 160 seafood processing plants.

Factors driving healthcare-related construction include an aging population, federal and state funding, insurance programs, technology advances, and the continued repercussions of the pandemic. Construction in 2022 includes clinics in Seward and Girdwood, an Anchorage medical office building, and a Fairbanks assisted living community. Work will continue on SEARHC’s replacement of Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka, Bartlett Hospital’s new behavioral health facility in Juneau, and expansion of the Chief Andrew Isaac Health Center in Fairbanks, among other projects.

Businesses in all sectors throughout Alaska will continue to invest in new facilities, upgrades, and expansions, even against the backdrop of supply-chain disruptions and high material prices.

Work includes projects such as the 601 W. Fifth (formerly KeyBank) Building in Anchorage, Nuvision Credit Union in Wasilla, and renovations to vacant commercial space in downtown Kodiak. Air cargo and logistics projects valued at $1 billion are expected to get underway at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport in 2022.

Power producers, telecom carriers, and other utilities plan a variety of investments across Alaska in 2022. A GCI project will lay subsea cable along the Aleutians, bringing fiber optic to Dutch Harbor. Electric utilities, such as Chugach Electric Association, Golden Valley Electric Association, and Matanuska Electric Association, are expected to upgrade generation plants, improve substations, enhance transmission, and other upgrades. Alaska Native tribes are expected to continue broadband deployment throughout rural Alaska.

2,540

Number of construction industry employers in Alaska

40,000

Number of statewide construction-related jobs, including multiplier effects

9%

Percentage of all Alaska jobs supported by construction-related activity

$3.4 Billion

Total statewide labor income impact, including multiplier effects

11%

Percentage of all Alaska income related to construction-related activity

8.6%

Predicted growth in construction trades between 2018 and 2028

$4.6 Billion

Estimated 2022 construction spending

Information source: 2022 ACG Economic Benefit of Alaska’s Construction Industry

Airport improvements are anticipated throughout Alaska in 2022, including parking garage work at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport and taxiways or terminals in Anchorage, Fairbanks, Juneau, and rural sites. Dock and harbor construction includes work to relocate a boat launch ramp and develop uplands in Haines, restore and upgrade Cordova’s South Harbor, and continued work on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration port facility in Ketchikan and the Port of Alaska in Anchorage. The recent federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act includes billions in additional funding for rural airport projects, billions for port and harbor infrastructure, and millions for ferry system and facilities improvements. Most of this new spending is expected in 2023 and beyond.

Beyond national defense and transportation spending, other expected 2022 federal funding includes a proposed $55 million bridge project construction and rehabilitation by Alaska’s housing authorities. A spending surge from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is expected to include millions of dollars for water/wastewater and renewable energy projects, among others.

Other state and local government expenditures are anticipated in 2022 for projects such as solid waste transfer stations, bulk fuel storage upgrades, water and wastewater treatment facility upgrades, community development initiatives, and renovations and repairs to buildings.

The State of Alaska shares with local governments the cost of new school construction, rehabilitation, and maintenance. Spending of previously authorized state funds is expected in 2022 for work on the Eek School and Barnette Magnet School in Fairbanks; school replacement in Napakiak, Hollis, and Houston; and other projects.

Highway and road spending in 2022 will include both ongoing and new projects, such as bridge work, paving/resurfacing, and drainage improvements, much of it on the Seward, Sterling, Dalton, Glenn, Parks, Denali, or Richardson highways. Beyond 2022, the state is expected to see a surge in highway and road construction spending; more than $3.5 billion is expected over a five-year period. Federal funding has been set aside for the Tribal Transportation Program, reconstruction of highways from Alaska into Canada, and other projects in rural areas.

Major US Army Corps of Engineers spending will continue to focus on maintaining, modernizing, and upgrading Alaska’s existing military infrastructure. Major federal fiscal year 2022 construction includes runway expansion at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, barracks and a new child development center at Fort Wainwright, and cleanup of former defense sites in Unalaska and elsewhere. Construction of new housing at Coast Guard Base Kodiak is expected to begin in 2022, as well as spending at the Coast Guard station in Sitka and Base Ketchikan. Additional federal funding authorized through the infrastructure package will support further construction at Coast Guard facilities throughout coastal Alaska.