AGP Executive Report

Tourism vs. nature protection: RIU has submitted plans to modernise Hotel Riu Palace Tres Islas inside Fuerteventura’s protected Dunas de Corralejo, adding rooms and facilities while claiming energy-saving upgrades—sparking renewed opposition from environmental groups over Natura 2000 impacts. Energy storage investment: Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners agreed to divest minority stakes in Scotland’s 500MW Devilla BESS to the Scottish National Investment Bank and the Nuclear Liabilities Fund, while keeping majority control through construction. Battery tech certifications: GSL Energy says its 5MWh containerised BESS has secured multiple EU and North American certifications, positioning it for overseas C&I and grid projects. EU green jobs: Eurostat reports employment in the EU green economy rose to 5.8m full-time equivalents by 2023, with construction the fastest-growing segment. Housing pressure and homelessness: A special report highlights Ireland’s homelessness rise alongside a long-running mismatch between housing supply and demand. EU tech sovereignty: The European Commission moves to curb US cloud dominance for sensitive public contracts, with Parliament also switching its default search to Qwant. Nuclear project hurdle cleared: The EU decided not to launch an in-depth probe into KHNP’s Czech Dukovany nuclear expansion under the Foreign Subsidies Regulation. Real estate finance & development: Turner & Townsend reports record 2025 revenue growth, citing expansion in real estate and infrastructure delivery.

Urban Development & Housing: Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed at SXSW London outlined Arada’s push for 16,000 homes across its wider London pipeline, including the Regal acquisition and a majority stake in the £2.5bn Thameside West scheme due to start construction in 2027. Planning & Supply Constraints: Prague is seeing a record 157,000 homes in planning and permitting, but slow approvals are keeping new supply too low, sustaining price pressure. Construction Market Signals (UK): Lloyds Business Barometer shows construction confidence rebounding 15 points to 44% in May, hinting at tentative stabilisation. Energy-Efficient Electrification (France): France’s electrification pact targets 60% low-carbon electricity in the energy mix by 2030, with €10bn a year in public support to accelerate power, heating, transport and industry upgrades. Labour & Migration (Hungary): Hungary cancels residence permits for non-EU migrant workers, a move that could hit construction and other sectors reliant on foreign labour. Heritage & Built Environment: The Sagrada Família’s newest tower has been crowned, underscoring how major landmarks keep evolving even as they remain under construction.

AI & Infrastructure Supply Chains: China’s optical modules and chip exports are surging as AI data-centre buildouts accelerate, with optical module orders stretching to 2028 and exports of integrated circuits up sharply year-on-year. Housing Delivery & Planning: A UK MP has criticised Vistry over “endless” delays to a promised Sainsbury’s shop at the Windrush Place housing development in Witney, despite the estate’s school and leisure centre already being open. Urban Growth & New Towns: Bristol’s biggest expansion in a generation is moving forward via five new towns, driven by local plan work and the UK push to “get Britain building,” with tens of thousands of homes in masterplanning. Tourism Pressure: Scotland’s overtourism concerns are rising as visitor numbers climb, with locals citing crumbling roads, overflowing bins and housing affordability strain. Labour Mobility: The EU’s Labour Authority says fair mobility is the key challenge as shortages hit construction and other sectors, while digitalisation and AI reshape jobs. Construction & Transport Ops: UK airports are facing “dirty” cleanliness complaints, with Leeds Bradford topping a review-based ranking—an indirect hit to travel-facing property and facilities expectations.

Albania Protests: Thousands in Tirana and at the Vjosa-Narta lagoon reserve are rallying against a €1.4bn luxury resort tied to Jared Kushner/Ivanka Trump, with demonstrators warning construction could damage flamingo and marine habitats and calling for the project to be cancelled. Affordable Housing Debate (Spain): Spain’s housing affordability fight is heating up, with proposals to ban “luxury” features in subsidised homes, cap rents around €500–600, and tighten rules so state-funded units can’t be flipped to the open market. Public Safety (UK/Infrastructure): Balfour Beatty says abuse toward road workers is rising, after footage showed a van driver smashing through roadworks barriers, prompting more CCTV and body cameras. Sustainable Offshore Build (Ireland): Dublin-based Restore Blue, based at NovaUCD, is raising €500k to help offshore construction design with nature in mind, aiming to reduce harm from projects like wind farms. Tokenised Real Estate (Luxembourg/EU): Goldman Sachs and Apex Group have launched a Luxembourg-domiciled tokenised real estate fund for institutional investors across the EEA, using regulated partners for issuance and settlement. Circular Materials (Spain): Swiss startup GR3N raised €15.5m to build a microwave-assisted PET recycling plant in Spain, targeting the hard-to-recycle 85% of PET waste. Energy Security (Algeria/Niger/Nigeria): Construction has started on Algeria’s section of a trans-Saharan gas pipeline intended to deliver up to 30bn cubic meters annually to European markets as reliance on Russian supply is reduced.

Tourism & Jobs: Cambodia’s Preah Sihanouk reviewed 15 investment proposals worth about $39M to boost Koh Rong, targeting roughly 1,000 jobs and faster permitting, investor support and skills. Coastal Development Backlash: Albania faces mounting protests over Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner’s planned luxury resort near protected flamingo habitat, with conservationists alleging beach works and unclear permits while the PM says impacts are still being assessed. Heritage Under Pressure: Malta’s construction boom is drawing fresh alarm as activists warn farmland and even UNESCO-linked sites could be “devoured” by hotels and roads, after a barracks demolition sparked outrage. Sanctions & Industry Scrutiny: Ireland and EU policymakers face renewed questions over Aughinish Alumina’s exports to Russia and whether it should be covered by sanctions, with officials citing insufficient clarity versus campaigners pointing to military links. Infrastructure Momentum: Morocco’s Grand Stade Hassan II near Casablanca is about 30% complete and rising fast toward a 2027 target, as the 2030 World Cup final bid gains scale. Housing Affordability: A new global affordability ranking puts London as the first European market in the list, with price-to-income still far above historic norms. Security Planning Exchange: European mayors are seeking Ukraine’s experience on community security resilience, with Vinnytsia sharing practical steps as countries require local plans. Asset Recovery: Europol and ARMA report a major week in The Hague uncovering illicit accounts, crypto and 44 real estate properties tied to organized crime, supporting targeted seizures and prosecutions.

Digital Infrastructure: ViaTunisia’s subsea cable segment between Marseille and Bizerte has reached ready-for-service status, boosting secure, high-capacity connectivity between Southern Europe and North Africa under the EU’s CEF Digital programme. Data Centres & Energy: France’s €50bn “AI Campus” push is colliding with rural fears, while Zurich expands data-centre construction insurance to more markets—both signals of how fast the buildout is moving. Construction & Planning Disputes: Albania’s “Flamingo Revolution” protests are intensifying against Kushner-linked plans to develop Sazan Island and nearby wetlands, with critics warning of major environmental damage and transparency issues. Real Estate Finance Law: Illinois passed measures tightening mortgage debt collection timing (10 years) and clarifying heirs’ routes to title for inherited property—rules that can reshape how construction-linked assets are handled in disputes. Industrial Buildouts: SkyNRG broke ground on the DSL-01 sustainable aviation fuel plant in Delfzijl, aiming to turn long-planned SAF capacity into real construction delivery.

UK Construction Slowdown: Britain’s construction activity shrank at the fastest pace in six years in May, with the S&P Global UK PMI at 38.2 and new work falling sharply as borrowing costs and energy-linked material prices bite. EU Migration Infrastructure: EU states are racing to host “return hubs” for rejected asylum seekers after a tentative deal on deportation rules, with countries debating locations and timelines as talks move toward naming host states. Germany-US Defence Tensions: Trump says the US will withdraw 5,000 troops from Germany over six to 12 months, escalating pressure on NATO partners and raising uncertainty for European security planning. Energy & Data Centres: EU and global demand for power-hungry data centres keeps pushing grid modernisation and energy storage up the agenda, with regulators and developers scrambling to keep supply ready. Industrial Builds: Skanska advances a Warsaw residential push with a €34m third phase in Wola, while UK youth employment policy adds 300,000 work placements—aimed partly at construction and hospitality.

Energy & Grid Investment: Zurich expands its Data Center Project Guard insurance beyond the US into Brazil, Germany, Italy, the Nordics and Spain, aiming to cover fast-growing AI-driven build risks. Renewables & Storage: Sunly and Rolls-Royce sign a major Baltics battery storage deal, with Latvia’s hybrid park battery commissioning due in Q1 2027. Transport Infrastructure: Moldova secures an extra €150m EBRD loan to modernize the Chisinau–Leuseni road and Chisinau ring road works. Construction Policy: Italy’s lower house backs legislation to restart the legal path for nuclear power, though it doesn’t authorize plant construction yet. Digital Connectivity: ViaTunisia’s subsea cable segment between Marseille and Bizerte reaches Ready for Service, co-financed by the EU’s Connecting Europe Facility. Real Estate & Development Watch: Universal United Kingdom Resort is officially named as construction nears on a former brickworks site near Bedford, with £5bn investment and a 2031 opening. Project Finance/Build Pipeline: Tishman Speyer’s Korea Living Venture raises $300m first close from European pension investors for Seoul-area rental housing acquisitions and development. Construction Safety & Labour: Italy faces renewed scrutiny after video of migrant farm workers burned alive in Calabria spotlights labour exploitation and criminal gang abuse.

Protest & Permitting Clash (Albania): Thousands in Tirana and at the Zvërnec site are escalating demonstrations against a Jared Kushner/Affinity Partners luxury resort near the Vjosa-Narta protected landscape, with police using water cannon after protesters breached a security cordon; critics warn of 10–15 years of construction and major habitat damage. Housing Supply Push (Madrid): Madrid’s Assembly is set to approve urgent measures to boost protected public housing, aiming to add 18,000 units by speeding planning, increasing buildability/density, and mobilising public land. Energy & Infrastructure Deal (Russia/Arctic LNG 2): NordLine (NOVATEK) may buy 10% of Arctic LNG 2 from TotalEnergies, a move tied to a massive LNG buildout with $21.3bn estimated full-capacity investment. Labour Abuse Spotlight (Italy): Four migrant farmworkers were killed in Calabria in a case that renews scrutiny of caporalato and exploitative recruitment in seasonal agriculture supply chains. Urban Disruption (UK): Birmingham’s Digbeth businesses say delays to Eastside Metro Extension works are hitting footfall and increasing fly-tipping, while TfWM targets completion by end of June. Construction Finance/Tech (Europe): Semble raised £30m Series C to expand its outpatient care coordination platform across the UK and France, reflecting ongoing investment in health-related real estate services.

UK Tourism & Jobs: Universal has unveiled the name and logo of its £7.3bn Bedfordshire resort—Universal United Kingdom Resort—backed by UK government support and aiming to start construction soon, with thousands of jobs expected during build and opening in 2031. Energy Storage Finance: Aukera Energy reached financial close on Belgium’s Project Volt, a 170MW/340MWh battery storage scheme, targeting mid-2027 operations. Grid & Data Centre Pressure: A UN report warns AI could sharply raise electricity use, water demand and waste by 2030, putting more strain on Europe’s power and cooling infrastructure. Housing & Materials: A new analysis argues “the future of housing is concrete,” pointing to precast concrete as a durability and resilience play amid extreme weather. Renewables Legal Risk (US, but relevant to Europe investors): Seven US states sued to reverse a TotalEnergies offshore wind lease deal, highlighting how policy and courts can derail large projects. Construction Pipeline (UK): Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission published a £7.4bn framework for civils, buildings and overhead line works, signaling ongoing grid build-out.

EU Digital Sovereignty: The EU is set to unveil a “technological sovereignty” package aimed at cutting reliance on American and Asian tech, with new rules for chips, cloud computing and AI. Energy Infrastructure: Latvia opened its first hybrid solar-plus-battery energy park in Līvāni, backing grid stability and energy security. UK Nuclear Build: Britain’s nuclear push faces cost and delay pressure, with Sizewell C and Hinkley Point C central to plans for more low-carbon power. Real Estate Leadership: British Land named Joanne McNamara as CEO, as the group points to office demand tied to AI and tech. Construction Materials Demand: Market reports flag continued growth in commercial heating equipment, industrial gases, and fabricated metals—signals of ongoing retrofit and infrastructure spend. Offshore Wind Legal Fight: US states sued over a deal to cancel TotalEnergies offshore wind projects, putting renewable delivery and jobs at the center of the dispute.

EV Manufacturing Push: SAIC will build its first European EV factory in Galicia, Spain, with construction starting in 2027 and 120,000 vehicles a year targeted, backed by ~€200m investment and 2,300 jobs. European Charging Rollout: XCharge appoints Albina Iljasov as co-CEO and says its Spain assembly plant (with EU testing in Hamburg and Madrid) is ramping high-power chargers and storage “Made in Spain.” Housing Finance & Supply: Boston’s proposed construction tax breaks aim to restart building, while the wider debate keeps circling affordable-housing requirements and whether incentives are enough to overcome high costs. Community Regeneration: Northern Ireland councils move forward with a procurement notice to redevelop a former PSNI station into a sustainable, multi-use community hub under the PEACEPLUS RESTART programme. Planning Reform: Germany plans to reclassify nightclubs as cultural venues, giving them stronger protection from eviction and redevelopment under new building rules. Energy Storage Investment: Eelpower Energy buys the 50MW/100MWh Stoneworthy battery project in Devon, UK, targeting construction in 2027 and operations in 2028. Construction Materials Innovation: Carbios and Wankai delay China’s first PET biorecycling plant commissioning to H1 2028 as site-specific technical work continues.

Construction Craft & Awards: Bucharest terrazzo contractor Aragon won the NTMA 2026 Judges’ Choice International Award for its ISSA Resort Charm ballroom floor in Turda, Romania, highlighting disciplined gray tonal design, marble aggregate depth, and coordinated stone wall cladding. Energy Security & Infrastructure: UK campaigners warn the National Grid’s £30bn upgrade plan may underinvest in physical protection for substations and cables as drone threats rise, arguing for hardened shelters, drone nets, or more underground cabling. Housing Policy Debate: In the UK, a political fight over Right to Buy intensifies, with claims it’s a “huge success” versus calls to restrict sales for new social housing stock. Materials & Sustainability Data: Novelis published independently verified Environmental Product Declarations for architectural aluminium products across Europe, aiming to help projects meet certification and decarbonisation requirements. Offshore Wind Pipeline (France): France issued tenders for 10 new offshore windfarms, targeting 15GW by 2035, with returns linked to nuclear economics and electricity prices unlikely to drop. Public-Sector Dereliction: Ireland’s derelict sites system is criticized after an HSE-owned property was added to registers but the council avoided levies—effectively fining the State.

AI Data Centres & Power Race: SoftBank is set to invest up to €75bn in French AI infrastructure, targeting up to 5GW of data-centre capacity, with early sites in Dunkirk and EDF backing a 400MW campus at Bouchain—another reminder that electricity access is becoming the real bottleneck. Construction Materials & Carbon: A new focus on embodied carbon is colliding with faster AI-driven build schedules, pushing operators to question whether concrete-heavy data centres can meaningfully switch materials without breaking structural and safety requirements. Energy Infrastructure Buildout: Ardian and partners are planning a €5bn, 500MW AI data-centre hub, linking digital and energy investment to “digital sovereignty” goals. Hydrogen Delivery Reality Check (UK): UK hydrogen momentum is real, but projects keep stalling because the commercial framework—especially long-term offtake deals—lags behind policy ambition. Renewables Dealmaking: Grenergy signed a 12-year hybrid PPA for Oasis de Atacama phase work in Chile, extending its solar-plus-storage expansion. Waste & C&D Trends (Germany): Germany cut total waste in 2024 to the lowest since 2009, with construction and demolition waste down 8.1%, while mineral-resource waste rose. Nuclear Innovation (Netherlands): The EU’s climate commissioner backed construction of a €8m test facility for a molten-salt reactor concept that aims to turn nuclear waste into fuel. Real Estate & Development (Albania): Albania’s authorities are investigating a seaside resort tied to Jared Kushner, with protests raising questions over protected areas and environmental studies. Charging Costs (EV Infrastructure): Entogo says DC fast-charging budgets are driven more by electrical make-ready, transformers and demand charges than the charger hardware itself. Rail & Logistics (Georgia): Georgia marks the commissioning of the modernized Baku–Tbilisi–Kars line, a key Middle Corridor freight route.

AI Data Centres & Power Buildout: SoftBank plans up to €75bn for AI computing clusters in France, including a €45bn, 3.1GW Hauts-de-France push by 2031, with Dunkirk positioned as a hub for AI infrastructure and robotics. Green Hydrogen Delivery: Lhyfe and STRABAG sign a co-development framework to build renewable hydrogen projects in Germany, aiming to scale RFNBO supply as EU rules tighten demand. Skills for Construction Decarbonisation: Ireland’s Green Accelerator Skills Programme launches a new GRASP website to route people into fully funded green training for retrofit, heat pumps and PV. Coastal Resort Conflict in Albania: Protests and clashes erupt near Vlora over a Kushner-linked luxury tourism plan around Sazan and Zvernec-Narta, with property-right and environmental concerns driving tensions. Energy Market Watch: LNG prices may fall after a potential post-July easing in supply constraints, with Europe’s inflation sensitivity tied to gas benchmarks. Project & Market Signals: Germany’s hydrogen and cooling infrastructure momentum continues, while a global dewatering pump market is forecast to reach US$11.8bn by 2032 as construction and mining expand.

Border Security & Tech: Estonia has installed its first stationary anti-drone detection systems along the border with Russia, with more fixed devices planned across the full line by end-2026. Rail & Cross-Border Infrastructure: Serbia has published the early-stage environmental process for a Corridor 10 high-speed double-track upgrade through North Macedonia, including new alignments as old tunnels and tight curves cap speeds. Housing & Local Development: Malta’s Labour Party won a historic fourth term in a snap election, with the result landing amid pressure on tourism and construction-linked infrastructure strain from the Middle East crisis. Project Delivery & Governance: A South West Development Commission rail strategy push stresses becoming an “intelligent client” — financing, governance and coordination before engineering. Real Estate & Community Space: Arlington County is close to finalizing a deal to relocate Arlington Community High School to Amazon’s HQ2 campus, with construction/design changes nearly complete for the 2026-27 school year. Tourism & Built Heritage: Prague’s Airbnb boom hits 18,000 apartments, while Spain’s religious tourism is framed as a fast-growing, place-based segment reshaping local economies.