News

Auction specialist Euro Auctions claims that market interest in secondhand equipment continues to rise. The firm reports strong demand for secondhand machines at its recent sales. At the firm’s three day event in Leeds in late August, almost 4,000 lots went under the hammer, the highest number sold at their Leeds auctions to date, achieving over £26.6 million. A large volume of stock had to be turned away and the cut-off date for stationary equipment was also earlier than previous auctions. In addition the

Metso has now completed its acquisition of a majority stake in Chinese construction equipment supplier Shaorui Heavy Industries. This is a significant move and will strengthen Metso’s presence in the Chinese construction market. Shaorui Heavy Industries (Shaorui), is one of the leading mid-market crushing and screening equipment producers in China. The move leaves Metso with a 75% holding in Shaorui and an option to purchase the remaining 25% in the future. The size of the deal has not been revealed however

Considered one of the largest construction firms in the world, the Saudi Binladin Group (SBG) is a family-owned business which has grown over the years into a highly diversified group with operating divisions spread across key business sectors. The Group’s portfolio of construction projects is an array of Saudi Arabia’s most iconic landmarks that includes Princess Nora University’s new campus, Jeddah’s Kingdom Tower and Riyadh’s King Abdullah Financial District, a new development consisting of 34 towers tha

Provisional figures available from the UK’s Department for Transport reveal a drop in road fatalities in 2012 compared with the previous year. There were 1,754 fatalities in 2012, an 8% drop from 2011 according to the DfT information. In all 195,723 were killed or injured on UK roads in 2012, a drop of 4% from 2011 while 23,039 were seriously injured a drop of 0.4%. Vehicle traffic levels fell just 0.4% for 2012 compared with 2011 however. The number of pedestrian deaths, as well as motorcyclist and car occ

The French government is considering establishing a toll plaza to fund the €1.2 billion expansion to three lanes of the A31 motorway from Nancy, France to Luxembourg. The toll plaza, or 'péage', would be located somewhere on the busy A31 stretch between Thionville, France, and Luxembourg. Some 100,000 cars travel between Thionville and Luxembourg each day. The stretch has become a popular alternative route for motorists travelling between Germany and the Mediterranean.

More than 300 invited customers and guests attended the grand opening of Liebherr’s new sales and service centre in Miami, Florida. The new state-of-the-art facility will serve as a major hub for Liebherr’s maritime cranes division and will further strengthen business relations with Central and South America and the Caribbean region. In terms of logistics, the sales and service centre is said to be ideally located: the port of Miami and Miami International Airport are in close proximity to the new

A new bridge project is planned for Izhevsk in Russia. The bridge will span the Kama River and is expected to cost US$438 million to construct. The contractor VTB is one of the firms that will be involved in the construction of the crossing. In addition VTB is also looking to build a bridge spanning the Lena River as well as a section of the high speed highway that will link Russia’s major conurbations of Moscow and St Petersburg. This last contract looks likely to be awarded in the second quarter of 2014.

A series of upgrades are planned for the two bridges crossing the Bosporus at Istanbul. A series of structural renovation works will be carried out. The work is due for completion in 2014 and includes the replacement of 236 cable sections. The tender for the work is now open to entrants although it has been closed to consortia.

The Victoria state government in Australia is planning to build Melbourne’s East West Link road costing US$5.64 billion (AUD 6 billion) to $7.53 billion (AUD 8 billion) on public-private partnership (PPP) basis and will award construction deals by the end of 2013. There are four consortia shortlisted for the18km tolled motorway project: Momentum Infrastructure, consisting of Leighton, John Holland, Iridium and Dragados; Sicuro, made up of Egis, Hyundai, Impregilo, Salini, Aquasia and InfraLinx Capital. T

The Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens vegvesen) plans to invest €10 billion (NOK 80 billion) in road building and tunnel upgrades from 2014-17, according to its new investment plan for the period. A further another €2.87 billion (NOK 23 billion) will be spent on pedestrian and cyclist safety measures. Veidekke, a Norwegian construction company, forecasts 2-3% annual growth in the Norwegian construction market in 2014, but with a flattening out of housing construction. It forecasts Sweden

The construction of a 74km road between Caracollo and Confital in Bolivia will cost around US$177 million, the country’s vice-president Alvaro Garcia Linera has revealed. The contract for the project has been put out to tender. Companies have until 8 November 2013 to submit their proposals. The contract will be signed on 23 December 2013.

Road weight restrictions are not always adhered to in some countries

The US$396 million upgrade of the Tumba Muerto-Via Israel road in Panama City, including four flyovers and four tunnels to alleviate traffic jams, is expected to be completed by the end of December 2013. More than 630,000 drivers will benefit directly when section one of the scheme, costing $216 million, is inaugurated in 15 days. Section two, which is 80% complete, requires a $180 million investment and will benefit 250,000 drivers. It is expected to open at the end of October 2013. Meanwhile, minist