News

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded a highway widening contract worth US$202 million (INR 12.32 billion) to IL&FS Engineering and Construction Company. IL&FS will widen to four lanes 127km of the Patna-Gaya-Dobhi section of NH-83 in the north eastern Indian state of Bihar. The project is due for completion in three years and it will be undertaken under the Official Development Assistance Loans programme of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

During the recent Conexpo event in Las Vegas, Kelly Majeskie, President of The LeeBoy Group, spoke about his expansion plans for the business “We’ve been working on a couple strategies for LeeBoy” said Majeskie, “an overseas growth strategy and a more focused approach to the US market. Like most businesses we saw a major downturn when the US housing market took the big hit in 2008/9.

During the recent Conexpo event in Las Vegas, Kelly Majeskie, President of The LeeBoy Group, spoke about his expansion plans for the business “We’ve been working on a couple strategies for LeeBoy” said Majeskie, “an overseas growth strategy and a more focused approach to the US market. Like most businesses we saw a major downturn when the US housing market took the big hit in 2008/9.

Bentley Systems has announced the project finalists in its 2014 Be Inspired Awards competition. The awards highlight the achievements made by users of Bentley software in improving and sustaining infrastructure. Nine independent panels of jurors, comprising distinguished industry experts, selected the 54 finalists from nominations submitted by organisations in 49 countries. The winners of the Be Inspired Awards will be announced at The Year in Infrastructure 2014 Conference, which takes place November 4th

Serbia’s Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure says that the new Zemun-Borca Bridge will open by 20th December 2014. The Zemum Bridge project will be complete within the planned timeframe, with this work including the access roads. The structure spans the Danube River and will now be named the Pupinov Bridge, after the Serbian scientist Mihajlo Pupin following a decision by the City Board of Belgrade. Much of the work has been carried out by the Chinese contractor; The Second Harbor Enginee

The Algerian Ministry for Public Works plans for tolling to commence on the East-West Highway before the end of 2015. The charges will be linked to the maintenance and management costs of the link. A study is underway providing the necessary information required to outline the concession package. Meanwhile the package for the 84km section connecting Annaba with the Tunisian border via the El-Tarf province is being allocated to two national groupings. Three firms are carrying out necessary repairs to secti

Morocco’s Ministry for Infrastructure and Transport is developing a new national road plan. The first stage is to carry out a study into the country’s transport needs. This will be an extension of the 2035 road plan. At present, Morocco has 51,000km of roads, including 41,431km of surfaced roads and 727km of expressways. However there is concern that the country’s road network is not adequate for Morocco’s needs and that government funding will be insufficient to carry out the work required. The Ministry fo

European skiers may be praying for snow but city dwellers and highway users likely want the white stuff at bay for as long as possible. To help drivers be ready for the inevitable snow, the UK’s Institute of Advanced Motorists (IAM) has launched its national winter campaign Wheels in Winter well ahead of 21 December, the official first day of winter. London’s winters can be milder than for many other major northern European cities, such as Paris, Warsaw and Berlin. But the UK capital’s rainy weather with t

A new transport plan is being drawn up in the Philippines in a bid to deal with the country’s frequent traffic delays. The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has commissioned the World Bank to set out a country-wide infrastructure roadmap. This plan is called the 'Philippine Transport Infrastructure Development' by the World Bank is in broadly in line with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA)'s 'Dream Plan' for the country. Both outline sustainable development for Manila by 2030

Plans are well in hand for the INTERMAT 2015 construction equipment exhibition, being held in Paris in April. The organisers say that the 2015 edition promises to be a great success, thanks to a high level of creativity and exceptional events to promote the building materials and machinery industry, and the companies that use them. One of the new features of this 2015 edition is World of Concrete Europe (WOC Europe), bringing together the entire concrete industry and its full range of products. Also, the IN

The BICES 2015 construction equipment exhibition will be held in a new venue located close to Beijing airport and with good links to the city both by road and public transport. This move was announced at a press conference was held in Beijing by the show organisers of BICES; China Construction Machinery Association (CCMA), China Construction Machinery Co (CNCMC), and China Council for the Promotion of International Trade - Machinery Sub-Council (CCPIT-MSC). BICES 2015 is scheduled to be held on 22nd-25th Se

Kazakhstan is increasing the budget allotted for road repairs in the west of the country. The country’s government plans to allot some US$110 million (ZT 20 billion) for road repairs in West Kazakhstan. This sum will be used to fund repairs from 2014 until 2016.

Further problems surround the project to construct Algeria’s East-West Highway. Much of the route is complete, however a number of sections have faced delays with disputes having developed between contractors and the Algerian Government, which is overseeing the project. This latest development has seen the Algerian Ministry for Public Works announcing that the Japanese firm Cojaal has lost its contract to construct the remaining 84km of the eastern section of the East-West highway. It is not clear at presen