Last year, when projects were going ahead in the oil sands and investments were being made, the outlook was that in the next ten years we were going to see $150 billion in investment, generating over $1 trillion in economic opportunity. Most of that would be open for manufacturers across Canada, and around the world, to take part in. Now, with the slowdown, we're still looking at a combination of investment in new projects and maintenance that wasn't included in the other number. Still, $30 billion will be spent this year in the oil sands, generating opportunity for suppliers—primarily in machining, metals, steel fabricating, pressure vessels, environmental technology, and process technology.
I know this because we've been running a program over the last three years trying to connect manufacturers with those opportunities and partnering them with Alberta companies. It's showing some of the problems of what it takes to go from an automotive parts supplier to supplying the oil sands. It isn't easy, because you're going from high-volume, high-precision, small-scale production to large-scale, one-off project work. So there's a challenge here. In fact, many companies from Quebec, northern Ontario, and the Atlantic provinces have a better opportunity because they're used to dealing with project work.
The oil sands offer a tremendous economic benefit for manufacturers right across the country. It is a major opportunity for companies that are trying to diversify their market. It would take, at current trends, 137 years for Canadian manufacturers to realize the same opportunity in China as they will in Alberta over the next decade. This is a major opportunity, not only to supply but to provide the new technologies that we need in the oil sands. That's some idea of the scale.
There are some good examples. A company called Promation in Mississauga has gone from an auto producer to producing exclusively for oil sands and nuclear energy. The same companies that supply oil sands also supply nuclear, refinery developments, and alternative energy projects. The opportunity here is not just to supply Alberta, but to take the knowledge and technology in Alberta and convert it into a resource that supplies the global energy industry. I think that's where the ultimate gain has to be.