News

The National Highways Authority of India has awarded a US$529.67 million (INR 32 billion) Yedeshi-Aurangabad NH21 four-lane highway project in India to India-based IRB Infrastructure Developers (IRB Infrastructure). With a concession period of 26 years, the project is scheduled for completion in 910 days.

Entries for Spain’s V International Award on Road Innovation ‘Juan Antonio Fernández del Campo’ are being accepted until 19 May 2014. The award contest, organised by the Spanish Road Association Foundation (FAEC), began in 2005 with the aim of contributing to the development of road technology worldwide through investigations that improve innovation in the road sector.

UK road planners and engineers attending next month’s International Safer Roads Conference will find out how to avoid losing part of their highway maintenance funding from the British Government. In the Department of Transport document, ‘Gearing up for efficient highway delivery and funding’, Robert Goodwill, MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Transport, warns that local authorities will be incentivised to take up asset management to make the most from allocated resources.

A massive bridge project in China is due to commence shortly. The work involves the construction of a bridge that will be nearly 20km long and the project is expected to cost close to US$672 million in all. The bridge will run from Xiangzhou district and connect through to Zhuhai city. The structure is expected to be ready to carry traffic in May 2017.

Plans are in hand in South Africa for road improvements to a key link between Pongola and eDumbe. The work involves improvements to some 77km of road in all and is expected to cost in the region of US$113 million.

Mexico’s Puebla State has major plans to develop its infrastructure, with the transport network having been placed as a priority for economic growth. A budget of some US$1.21 billion has been set out for infrastructure projects between 2014 and 2018. Of this, some 66.2% will be used to construct a new highway.

The governing Liberals in Ontario, Canada say they are willing to commit US$907 million (CAD 1billion) to develop a transport corridor including roads to the ‘Ring of Fire’, believed to hold one of the biggest chromite deposits globally, if the funds are matched by the federal Conservatives. They have asked Prime Minister Stephen Harper to pay for 50% of the $2.03 billion (CAD 2.25 billion) estimated cost of developing project-linked roads and industrial infrastructure.

Work is underway in China's Hebei province on the Zhangjiakou section of Erenhot-Qinhuangdao expressway. A total of US$1.12 billion (CNY 7 billion) will be invested in the 130.13km section, which will span between Dongtan Village of Guyuan County and Bainaobao Village of Kangbao County.

The RAC Foundation says that UK drivers are being left out of pocket by parking meters that do not give change. An assessment of new figures shows that councils may be gaining €46.11million (£38million) per year from overpayments on the pay-and-display machines.

CNH Industrial is to manufacture Sumitomo designed crawler excavator models between 13-35 tonnes at specific plants within its manufacturing network from mid-2016. The announcement comes after CNH Industrial agreed to enter into a new technology license and component supply agreement with Sumitomo (S.H.I.) Construction Machinery, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Heavy Industries.

The estimated US$2.94 billion (IDR 24 trillion) contract for the construction of the Jakarta Integrated Tunnel (JIT) project in Indonesia has been awarded to private construction company Antaredja Mulia Jaya (Antaredja), with construction work due to start by the end of 2014.

The Manitou Group is to undergo a reorganisation which, the Group says, is part of a ‘new roadmap’ for the future focused on customer value associated with its products and services. The French construction equipment manufacturing group will be organised into three divisions: two product divisions and a service division. The MHA - Material Handling and Access product division will manage the French and Italian production sites manufacturing telehandlers, rough-terrain and industrial forklifts, truck-mounted

Australian developer and operator of tolled roads, Transurban, is planning to spend US$788.29 million (AUD 850 million) to widen an eight-lane tolled section of Tullamarine freeway leading to Melbourne Airport.

German Minister of Economy and Energy, Sigmar Gabriel, attended the signing of a prized contract for the delivery of two Herrenknecht tunnel boring machines (TBM) for a large multi-functional tunnel in the Chinese city of Wuhan.