News

Vietnam needs over US$332mn for roads in 2014, says national funding body
April 17, 2014
The National Road Maintenance Fund of Vietnam requires over US$332 million (VND 7 trillion) to upgrade and fix roads in 2014, according to Le Hoang Minh, chief of the Fund’s Central Council. Of the total, almost $255.1 million (VND 5.4 trillion) will be used to upgrade and manage national highways, while the remainder will be allotted to cities and provinces to upgrade and maintain roads. Vehicle registrations are foreseen to contribute $217.31 million (VND 4.6 trillion) to the total amount required, with t
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TRL acquires Transport & Travel Research
April 15, 2014
TRL has announced the acquisition of Transport & Travel Research (TTR) making it a wholly owned subsidiary of TRL. A minority shareholder in TTR since 2010, TRL has stated that TTR will continue to operate as an independent organisation. TTR’s chairman, David Blackledge, has stepped down from the Board to take on a role as Special Advisor, while TRL's chief executive, Rob Wallis, is appointed chairman of TTR (in addition to his other group company responsibilities) with immediate effect. All other operat
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Cintra Infraestructuras wins major North Carolina, US highway contract
April 14, 2014
Spanish firm Cintra Infraestructuras, a subsidiary of Ferrovial, has been chosen by the Department of Transport in the US state of North Carolina (NCDOT) to design, construct, finance, operate and maintain the expansion of the I-77 highway. Design and construction within the US$655 million contract will be carried out by Ferrovial Agroman in collaboration with W.C. English, a local construction firm. The concession period is 50 years from when the highway opens to traffic - scheduled for mid-2018. Financing
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Spain needs €6.5bn road infrastructure investment, says SHA
April 14, 2014
Spain needs around €6.5 billion spent on its road infrastructure to bring it back up to ‘reasonable’ quality standard, according to a report drawn up by the Spanish Highways Association (SHA). The huge works’ bill is said by the SHA to be due to the deterioration of the roads since 1985. According to McKinsey, this investment could be reduced if tendering authorities made more effort when it came to project analysis. By improving the use of engineering services by 3% to 5% per investment, cost savings of
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Uruguay government pledges US$550mn for four major national roads
April 14, 2014
Uruguay’s Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MOTP) has recently presented proposals to the private sector on the modernisation and maintenance of four major national roads (26, 14, 55 and 20) over a ten-year period. A US$550 million government fund, known as Fondo Vial, will pay for the works, which will make Uruguay a real communications hub in the region, especially in light of a future deep water port. The national budget will remain unaffected.
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Continued improvement in Swedish road safety
April 11, 2014
Sweden’s road safety continues to improve as highlighted by the latest official statistics. These show that a 9% drop in road fatalities for 2013 compared with the previous year. In all 260 people were killed in road crashes on Sweden’s roads during 2013. The official data was compiled by Trafikanalys and to put this in context, Sweden’s rate of road-related fatalities is now at its lowest level since 1944. It is worth noting that in 1944, there were comparatively few registered motor vehicles in Sweden whi
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Strong interest in upcoming bC India show
April 11, 2014
The Indian construction market is bullish in the run up to the bC Indian show, being planned for December 15th to 18th, 2014. The event will be held in the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida, near capital Delhi and strong attendance is expected, especially since the country’s construction sector is seeing high demand for new equipment in response to a series of major new contracts and projects getting underway. One key investment is from the Airports Authority of India (AAI), for example, which is planning
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Parsons wins UK traffic census contract
April 11, 2014
Consultant Parsons Brinckerhoff is now carrying out National Road Traffic Census counts across England, Scotland and Wales on behalf of the Department for Transport. This contract almost doubles the company’s previous activity in this area and it will now be managing 1,500 people to undertake over 6,000 traffic count surveys/year. The company is also introducing new le technology to this role and will be trialling a new in-house traffic survey iPad ‘app’. The firm is working closely with the Department for
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Final shortlist revealed for ITF 2014 Summit Young Researcher of the Year Award
April 11, 2014
One of four young talented transport researchers will be presented with the 2014 Young Researcher of the Year Award in the presence of transport ministers from around the world at the International Transport Forum at the OECD’s 2014 Summit in Leipzig, Germany, on 21 May 2014. The jury’s final shortlist for the prestigious award includes Spain’s Francesc Soriguera who is nominated for examining whether real time information on travel time is helpful for drivers. His results show that this information is on
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Philippines PPP project programme proposed
April 10, 2014
The Philippines Government is unveiling 15 key infrastructure projects worth a total of US$14 billion over the next 12 months. These will form part of the PPP project programme proposed by the Philippines Government. The projects include the $1.44 billion Laguna Lakeshore Expressway Dike project and the $313.16 million Motor Vehicle Inspection System. Meanwhile the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) will be allocated a healthy $38.56 billion for road maintenance and repair activities by the gove
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Road repair and maintenance programme for Mexico
April 10, 2014
A budget of US$5 billion has been set for road construction, maintenance and modernisation projects in Mexico during 2014. The programme has been set out by the Secretariat of Transport and Communications (SCT), which published 2,191 tenders by March 2014 and expects 80% of resources to be tendered by May 2014. The projects include the Indios Verdes-Santa Clara viaduct, works to 300km of rural and agricultural roads in Quintana Roo and pavement restoration in Benito Juarez. Also included are the Mexico-Pue
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Increase in Italian hit and run incidents
April 10, 2014
The Italian road safety association, Asaps, has released data showing a worrying increase in hit and run incidents in the country. The figures show that there were 653 deaths from hit and run crashes on Italian roads between 2008 and 2013. The percentage of crashes attributed to the use of alcohol and drugs decreased from 43.8% in 2008 to 20.6% in 2013. But crashes caused by foreign drivers grew from 78 in 2008 to 137 in 2013. Hit and run crashes increased from 323 to 973 cases.
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Caterpillar is developing its Chinese operations further
April 10, 2014
Caterpillar has carried out an official renaming ceremony for the Chinese operation formerly titled Shandong Engineering Machinery Co. It is now called Caterpillar (Qingzhou) Co. The Qingzhou facility will be used to produce the Caterpillar-branded 950GC wheeled loader at present) and SEM-branded products at the plant. Caterpillar will carry out a dual brand (Caterpillar and SEM) strategy in China, so as to provide differentiated products to the Chinese users.
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Topcon launches “Technology Roadshow” for advanced machine automation systems
April 10, 2014
What’s the best way to get technology to the end-user? Topcon believes it has the answer with the 2014 edition of the Topcon Technology Roadshow, previewed for industry editors this week in Livermore, Calif.
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Colombian highway connections under construction
April 9, 2014
In Colombia work on the dual carriageway connecting Bogota and Buenaventura is now 40% complete. The link should be complete by the end of 2016. The Bogota-Girardot road is now opening, with excavation work still underway on the La Linea tunnel. The tunnel section of the project has been subject to delays arising from geological issues but when it is open, the tunnel will cut travel times and also improve safety over the existing route. The driving of the tunnel should be complete by September 2014 with the
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