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The UK chancellor announced in his spring budget what he called the biggest investment, US$87.5 billion (£61 billion), in transport infrastructure in generations and is increasing capital investment in the transport network by 50 per cent over this Parliament compared to the last. The government plans to establish the UK as a global centre for excellence in connected and autonomous vehicles by establishing a US$24.1 million (£15 million) ‘connected corridor’ from London to Dover to enable vehicles to com

German construction equipment manufacturers say that they achieved better results than the overall world market for machines during 2015. While German manufacturers’ sales developed positively in this industry, the global market experienced a double-digit downturn. “German companies were not as much affected by the severe downturns, such as in China, Latin America and Russia. Instead, we participated in the above-average positive developments of the European, Middle East, and North American markets,” said J

German engine manufacturer Deutz has today announced its financial results for 2015. New orders amounted to €1.2259 billion, down by 11.1% on the prior-year figure of €1.379 billion. In the service business, new orders were up by 7.2% however, although other segments reported a decrease in new orders compared with 2014.

Sandvik is merge its Sandvik Mining and Sandvik Construction operations into one business area, which will be called Sandvik Mining and Rock Technology. The various operations of this new division will be organised in a de-centralized business model. It will have separate product areas based on the product offering. Each product area will have full responsibility and accountability for its respective business.

Construction work is commencing on the Hamilton section of New Zealand’s Waikato Expressway. The work is valued at US$$653.7 million (NZ$973 million). The stretch forms part of the 102km Waikato Expressway project. Construction work for the project will include building new pedestrian and cycling links, as well as five interchanges and 17 bridges. The entire project is scheduled for completion in 2020. The Cambridge section of the expressway was opened to traffic recently, in December 2015.

Mexico’s Federal Government has allocated close to US$1 billion for a programme of key infrastructure works. The plan includes 80 infrastructure works in the state of Michoacan. Key work carried out so far includes building 100km of rural roads as well as the Cuitzeo-Patzcuaro highway, which is close to completion. The 64km highway connects Mexico-Guadalajara motorway with Lazaro Cardenas port.

Work to develop an important road link in Cameroon is benefiting from Japanese funding.

An upgrade is planned for the Ipswich Motorway between Darra and Rocklea in Queensland, Australia. The project is costing US$302.7 million, with half of the funding coming from the Queensland state government. The project is being monitored by the Infrastructure Association of Queensland (IAQ). The work will include a northern service road along Oxley Creek and the upgrade will boost safety and reduce travel times for the rapidly growing western suburbs of South East Queensland. The upgrade project will pro

Funding is required for the construction of 18 expressway projects in Vietnam. The projects will be worth a total of US$8.32 billion. Vietnam's Ministry of Transport is approaching various investors with a view to raising the necessary capital for the works. Of these projects 11 are planned to be carried out under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) and build-transfer (BT) models. The only project to be fully funded using state sources will be the Cam Lo-La Son BT expressway. The overall length of the projects

A series of major highways in Thailand will link key cities. The work is planned to be carried out over the next five years. The contracts are worth a total of US$3.6 billion. New highways will connect Kanchanaburi and Nonthaburi as well as Nakhon Ratchasima and Ayutthaya. Work on the Nakhon Ratchasima - Ayutthaya highway is expected to commence in May 2016 according to the Transport Ministry. Meanwhile work on the Kanchanaburi – Nonthaburi highway is expected to commence in December 2016.

A major highway contract has been awarded in Malaysia worth US$359.43 million. The work will be carried out by a joint venture team comprising Kimlun and Zecon. The work involves building sections of new road and upgrading existing infrastructure for the Sarawak Pan-Borneo highway project. The contract was awarded by Malaysian highway operator Lebuhraya Borneo Utara. The joint venture partners will carry out the construction and upgrading work between Pantu junction and the Serian roundabout under phase one

Italian exports of construction machines grew in 2015 compared with the previous year. The country exported construction equipment with a total value of €2.5 billion in 2015, an increase of 4.9% compared to the exports for 2014. This data has been released by SAMOTER Outlook, the market data analysis provided by SAMOTER (www.samoter.it) in collaboration with Prometeia and information contributed Unacea, the National Union of Companies Construction Equipment & Attachments.

Slovakia's Ministry of Transport, Construction and Regional Development, has reported that construction of the 12.28km long D3 highway stretch is on schedule. The section runs between Svrcinovec and Skalite and could be opened to traffic at the end of 2016. The stretch is one of the most difficult ones in terms of construction and includes an 84m tall bridge. This stretch of the highway will connect to the section between Skalite and the Polish border. The project is worth nearly €330 million.

The Danish political parties behind the Fehmarnbelt link have mandated Femern A/S to appoint preferred bidders for the main tunnel work in order to enter into conditional contracts no later than mid-May. Femern A/S is the Danish government-owned company managing the Fehmarn Belt immersed tunnel project between Denmark and Germany. The project was approved by the Danish parliament in April last year. It is supposed to be built, owned - apart from the German land works - and operated by Femern A/S, a su

Major roadworks within Mohammed Bin Zayed City are among recently announced projects, including electricity, street-lighting and storm-water drainage systems, to be funded by more than US$128 million. The projects covered by the funding were announced by Abu Dhabi officials in the United Arab Emirates. Earlier this year, the Roads and Transport Authority in Dubai awarded contracts worth $131 million for a series of road, bridge, crossing and tunnel upgrades. The projects include a new flyover, a signa