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In Bahrain, upgrade work on the Shaikh Jaber Al Ahmed Al Sabah Highway will start in August. Under the US$124 million contract, a two-level interchange is proposed for the Nuwaidrat roundabout, while the Alba roundabout will be transformed into the country’s first three-level interchange. The project is scheduled for completion by August 2018. Work is being carried out by Kuwait Constructions, Abdulla Ahmed Nass & Works and the Bahraini Minister of Municipalities & Urban Planning Affairs. Kuwait is

French engineering group Egis has acquired 51% of Projacs, a major project and construction management firm in the Middle East. Egis, based in Guyancourt, north of Paris, made the purchase for an undisclosed sum. The move follows the purchase in Brazil of highways contractor Lenc at the end of last year. Projacs, founded in 1984, is based in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, but also operates in neighbouring countries. It

Manitou, a maker of telehandlers, aerial platforms and forklifts, has reported sales for the half year 2015 up 6% to €681 million. The company, based in Ancenis, France, also reported net income of €17 million versus €14 million for the same period last year. Order intake on equipment in second quarter of this year was €252 million versus €248 million in Q2 2014. "The growth regions remained in North America and northern Europe, however with less sustained momentum than last year,” said Michel Deni

The Palfinger Group recorded revenue up by 14.1% to €606.2 million in the first six months of 2015, a new half-year record. Palfinger, a maker of loader cranes, marine cranes, wind cranes and container handling systems, noted that earnings grew more strongly than revenue. Earnings before interest and taxes rose by 29.6% to €53.7 million. The consolidated net result for the first half of 2015 was €34.6 million, 40.6% higher than the previous year's level. "We have been increasingly successful on internatio

Euro Auctions reported that it has held the largest one-owner sale in the UK this year, for Ashtead Plant Hire (A Plant) selling more than 800 lots. The auction, held in the city of Leeds on July 22, was the fourth sale that Euro Auctions has conducted for A-Plant and customers were bidding from more than 40 countries. More than 33% of bidding activity was online. David Betts, from Euro Auctions, said the sale catalogue consisted of more than 45 excavators, over 25 rollers, 70 tele-handlers, 80 dumper

Animal welfare groups in the Republic of Ireland are angry over the apparent insensitive act by a road making contractor who painted a yellow line over a dead cat on the side of the highway. A report by Irish newspapers quoted one person saying it was “shameful” and “nobody cared enough to move this poor cat who had been killed by a car and the line was painted over it”.

It may be early days for using drones – unmanned aerial systems (UAS) -- to map construction sites, but technology and legislation are moving in that direction. At the moment drones can fly within only a 500m radius of the ‘pilot’ standing on the ground, making the flight area a 1km diameter. This is the key limiting issue for any sector, especially road construction, says Jonathan Gill, a robotics engineer and a qualified drone pilot for the past seven years. The logic is that a drone remains withi

Light and compact equipment maker Wacker Neuson Group, based in Munich, Germany, reported record revenue and earnings for the first half of 2015. Revenue for the first six months of 2015 increased 14% relative to the same period 2014, reaching €706.4 million, a record high, the company said in a written statement. “Our business grew significantly, despite negative market developments in many countries, especially outside of the US and Europe,” said Cem Peksaglam, chief executive of Wacker Neuson.

The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport has allocated around US$615 million to complete construction of the second level of Mexico-Veracruz motorway. Works, which is ongoing along the 13.3km stretch, will be concluded by July 2016. The motorway will reinforce the connection between Veracruz port and the industrial areas of Puebla and Mexico states. Last month, the Secretariat confirmed that 80% of the projects included in the national infrastructure plan (PNI) between 2014 and 2018 are

Serbia’s Minister of Construction and Infrastructure, Zorana Mihajlovic, has said that work on the Fruskogorski Corridor motorway will start in the middle of next year. However, she also said talks are due to be held regarding financing of the project. A tender for technical documentation for the project is ongoing and due to be completed by March 2016. The project value has not been mentioned, according to a report by the Serbian news wire agency Tanjug.

According to the Rosavtodor Federal Road Agency, a decision on a contractor for reconstruction of the northern section of the St Petersburg Ring Road, worth nearly US$96 million, has been suspended. The federal public institution St. Petersburg's Transport Bypass Construction Directorate, which manages the road, could not give any details regarding the suspension. The tender was announced in the end of 2014 and a decision on a contractor had already been postponed from June 30 to August 25.

Europe’s largest direct from user auction event, the Hewden August Auction, will be held August 12. The Hewden August auction features power tools, generators, power and lighting towers, amp welders and even 13tonne Caterpillar excavators. The auction comprises ex-rental machinery and cranes owned and operated from new by Hewden. For those who cannot make the event in person, the auction is powered online by Proxibid, where the online provider’s fraud protection technology protects both buyers and seller

The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport has announced that US$7.8 billion, from both public and private sectors, is being invested in road projects as a consequence of the new Mexico City International Airport. Contracts include 11 renovation projects to improve the access to Mexico Valley and the connections to the new terminal. Work at Mexico-Pachuca, Mexico-Queretaro and Ecatepec-Piramides motorways was completed in June. The bridge connecting Urbana Sur with Mexico-Cuernavaca motorway

According to a report from Autoridad de los Puertos (AP), the state-owned company responsible for ports and airports in Puerto Rico, the companies hired to repave the runway at the Rafael Hernandez airport, in Aguadilla, have committed alleged irregularities and possible fraud. The two companies, Robles Asphalt and BTB Asphalt, have already been fined US$3.6 million for failures by the Federal Court which to be paid within a five-year period.

Algeria’s Minister of Public Works, Abdelkader Ouali, has told the state of El Taref that negotiations between his department via the national agency of highways (ANA) and the COJAAL consortium for the completion of the construction of the country’s east-west expressway are progressing well. Negotiations between the two parties should continue in order to find technical solutions and financial adjustment, he said. He also announced that the public group Cosider has been selected to reinforce companie