The Top 100 construction projects due to start on site in 2026 will generate £39 billion-worth of work, according to Glenigan’s market analysis.
Civil engineering is due to provide the greatest boost in value terms, with 29 of the Top 100 construction projects in 2026 worth a combined £23.8 billion. This includes the seven biggest schemes set to begin construction this year.
The largest scheme coming up in 2026 is the £10.2 billion tunnels and approaches work on the Lower Thames Crossing in Kent (Project ID: 91161081).
Image: Lower Thames Crossing - Department for Transport
Infrastructure boom
The next five biggest schemes are all valued at £1 billion or more. Four are also infrastructure-related and focused on improving the road network.
The second section of the A5 Western Transport Corridor roads scheme in Northern Ireland, which has a value of £1.7 billion, is due to start early this year (Project ID: 09050276).
A public highways and public realm agreement in Westminster will begin in October and run until 2039, with potential expenditure of around £1.25 billion (Project ID: 25089949).
A £1.2 billion package of roadworks to support the Lower Thames Crossing should start this summer and is the fourth largest scheme in the pipeline in 2026 (Project ID: 22190541).
Utility programme
The largest non-infrastructure scheme in the pipeline is Network Rail’s £1 billion Project Reach, which comprises the installation of trackside fibre optic cables alongside the rail system in London (Project ID: 21190978). Work should begin imminently.
There are a total of 10 utilities projects worth a total of £3.5 billion among this year’s Top 100 construction projects.
Two packages on the Haweswater Aqueduct Resilience Programme for Marl Hill (Project ID: 19417883) and Swarther (Project ID: 21306096) are both valued at £483 million and will start in November and August, respectively.
Office rebound
The office and commercial sector is showing signs of a major rebound, with 23 schemes in the latest Top 100 with a combined value of £6.3 billion. This compares to nine office and commercial schemes in the 2024 Top 100 worth a total of £1.6 billion.
The largest – and one of two office and commercial schemes in the Top 10 – is the £750 million Bidder Street Data Centre in Newham, East London, which is ranked eighth. Construction work should commence in April on this scheme, according to Glenigan’s industry research (Project ID: 22299265).
Ranked one place below in ninth is a major extension to the British Library, with Mace overseeing £700 million in construction work due to begin in June (Project ID: 15291949).
Housing boost
The housing sector provides the largest number of actual projects in the Top 100 construction projects, with 37 projects valued at £6.9 billion.
The private residential sector provides the bulk, with 26 schemes with a combined value of £4.8 billion. The largest – ranked in eleventh place – is a £577 million housing scheme at Marsh Wall in central London, where work should begin in February (Project ID: 14317547).
There are 11 social housing schemes in the Top 100 worth a total of £2.1 billion. The largest is the £400 million Fallowfield Campus student accommodation development in Manchester, where a start is expected in February (Project ID: 23180716).
Better times
With projects in the latest Top 100 construction projects in 2026 coming from 10 different sectors, all areas of the industry should be in for a better year in 2026.
