News

A consortium led by Fluor has been selected by South Carolina’s Department of Transportation to design and build the Port Access Road Project in Charleston. The project, in one of the US’s fastest growing container ports, will provide direct access between the proposed marine container terminal to be on the former naval base and Interstate 26.

In the Canadian Rocky Mountains, there was a window of opportunity of only several days before these excavators had to be out of the Kananaskis River ahead of nearby Barrier Dam releasing its water. The provincial Alberta Whitewater Association hired local contractor Foran Equipment to bring in their equipment in to re-work the riverbed after severe flooding in June 2013 washed out the kayaking courses. Southern parts of Alberta province suffered severe storms and massive flooding that month which devastate

Indonesia is going ahead with three toll road concessions in West Java, according to the head of the Toll Road Regulatory Agency, Herry Trisaputra Zuna. The three toll roads - Cileunyi-Banjar; Ciranjang-Padalarang; and Sukabumi-Ciranjang - will need total investment of up US$1.54 billion, he said. However, tenders will not be held this year, as preparation work for the projects, including feasibility study and land documentation, are only now being reviewed.

Caterpillar has released its first quarter results for 2016, which show some positive results although market conditions remain tough. The firm’s first-quarter 2016 sales and revenues hit US$9.5 billion, down from $12.7 billion in the first quarter of 2015. First-quarter 2016 profit/share of $0.46 was down from a profit of $2.03/share in the first quarter of 2015. Excluding restructuring costs, profit/share was $0.67, compared with $2.07/share in the first quarter of 2015.

Morocco is planning a new infrastructure programme. The country’s Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics is introducing a new tender scheme for a study that will be used to establish the national road infrastructure scheme (Snir) by 2035.

Plans are afoot in Tasmania for a new bridge project. The New Bridgewater Bridge is expected to cost US$413.2 million (A$535 million). The Tasmanian Infrastructure Ministry has unveiled the plans for the project. Due to its cost, Federal funding will be likely to be required, although Tasmania would provide around 20% of the pricetag from its own budget. However the proposal is around $232 million less than the previous concept design put forward for the project. The new design would feature four lanes for

Funding from the World Bank (WB) will help finance work on three major road projects in Tunisia. The finances include a loan of US$200 million as well as a contribution of $909,000. The roads will connect Siliana and El Fahs, Djbel El Ouest and Zaghouan, and Kairouan and Sousse. The loan and contribution are granted for technical assistance with regard to the three road projects. The financing agreements include a performance contract for road maintenance. The WB will also finance a feasibility study for Tu

SDLG has set itself a target to become China’s number one construction brand by 2021. Shandong Lingong Construction Machinery (known as Lingong), said it is already spending 10% of its sales revenues on research and development, and it claims up to 70% market share in a number of countries for its wheeled loaders, its largest-selling product.

Construction companies have the power to make a positive impact on the lives of people in need around the world, but the sector must think past the corporate bottom line. So said the former president of Uruguay, José Alberto Mujica Cordano, in his impassioned acceptance speech as recipient of this year’s Pilosio Building Peace Award.

The 60-year-old road and rail Velsertunnel in the Netherlands will be closed from now until the end of the year for major renovations. Improvements to the Velsertunnel beneath the North Sea Canal are scheduled for the road sections only, according to the Rijkswaterstaat, the Dutch government’s Ministry of Infrastructure and the Environment, and the consortium doing the work. Rijkswaterstaat awarded a design/build/maintain contract in 2014 to Hyacint, a consortium of Besix, Dura Vermeer, and Spie, supp