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The Malaysian authorities have now awarded the contract to build the huge Penang-Butterworth tunnel project. The new link will cost in the region of US$1.92 billion to construct and the work includes building three bypass connections as well as the undersea tunnel. The project will be handled by a consortium, Zenith BUCG while Astral Supreme Construction is assisting with the feasibility study for the work. The Penang-Butterworth sea tunnel will be 6.5km long. The project also includes a 4.2km link from Gur

Japan is to provide Official Development Assistance (ODA) loans worth more than US$900 million for road and other development projects in Myanmar. The multi-million dollar loan will be used for renovation and basic infrastructure in Yangon and for the Thilawa Special Economic Zone, said an official from Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Currently, JICA is working on a master plan to develop Yangon, including more than 70 programmes that include renovation of the city's public transportation sys

Judging for the United States-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) Hall of Fame has closed for 2013. This year’s inductees will be announced at the 2013 AEM Hall of Fame celebration presented at the Annual Conference of the AEM on November 5, 2013 in Orlando, Florida. The AEM Hall of Fame honours those who have made a difference to quality of life and whose innovations, ideas, and leadership have contributed significantly to the growth and strength of the off-road equipment industry. The 2013

The scientific institute on traffic safety Stichting Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek Verkeersveiligheid (SWOV) in the Netherlands has called for many national roads to be widened to cut accident levels. SWOV argues that a large share of Dutch roads with a 80km/h maximum speed limit are too narrow. Such roads are on average 7.5m wide, making them, SWOV says, among the narrowest in the world, with traffic having an average 2.75m of space to use. According to SWOV this should be at least 3.3m, which, it claims, cou

The Institution of Engineering and Technology (IET) is warning that economic prosperity could be at risk if more students, particularly females, do not choose and successfully complete advanced studies of maths and physics. The influential society has voiced its concern after today’s publication of exam results in the UK revealed a marked difference between the number of male and female students taking maths and physics at A-level.

Some people favour somewhat unusual llings in sandwiches

FLSmidth has received an order from Indian cement manufacturer Orient Cement for the supply of main equipment for a greenfield plant in the state of Karnataka in southern India. The plant will have a capacity of 6,000tonnes/day, and the order is reportedly worth over DKK 200 million. Under the agreement, the order covers engineering and supply of main equipment from limestone crusher to packing plant. FLSmidth will supply key components for raw material crushing equipment, limestone, coal and additive stor

The state Toll Bridge Program Oversight Committee (TBPOC) says it has received a report from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) in which the federal agency concludes that installing temporary seismic elements will make the new East Span of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge safe for traffic, and should be put in place as soon as possible. This FHWA plan involves inserting large steel plates, known as shims, into each of four bearings, improving their ability to safely distribute energy during an ea

The Pan-European police body, Tispol, is planning a key road safety conference in Manchester. The event will be held on 1st and 2nd October 2013. To highlight the benefits to be gained from the presentations and discussions to potential attendees, TISPOL has compiled a short video on last year’s conference, which was held in the Scottish capital Edinburgh.

Serbian Minister of Construction, Velimir Ilic, has announced that the Chinese Ministry of Economy has approved Serbia a loan of €249.61 million for the construction of the Corridor 11 motorway. Ilic said that the works on the motorway will begin in September 2013, after the loan was approved by China's Exim Bank at the end of June 2013. The major infrastructure project will include construction of the Obrenovac-Ub and Lajkovac-Ljig motorway sections covering a total length of 50km. The Chinese company Shan

A total of €954.13 million will be spent repairing 7,700kms of Ukraine’s roads during 2014, according to Yevgeny Prusenko, head of the state agency of automobile roads of Ukraine (Ukravtodor). Prusenko said the agency, who will carry out all repair works, will be fixing 3,600km of regional public roads and 4,100km of communal roads.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to lend US$410 million to Vietnam for the construction of the Second Southern Highway that links Ho Chi Minh City and the Mekong Delta. The arterial highway will consist of two cable-stayed bridges measuring a total of 5km, and 26km of interconnecting roads and associated access. The interconnecting roads and two bridges are expected to reduce the three-and-a-half hour travel time between Long Xuyen and Ho Chi Minh City by an hour, while the 90-minute travel time between

CNH recorded a 6% drop in its construction equipment sales revenue to US$939 million in the second quarter of 2013, compared to $1.001 billion sales revenue over the same period of 2012. Operating profit from the Group’s construction equipment sales was $12 million in Q2 2013, down 29% from the $17 million achieved in Q2 2012 as CNH continued to match production levels to retail demand, while also deploying production efficiency initiatives and improved price recovery.

Research carried out on behalf of an insurance firm reveals a worryingly high level of drug use amongst the UK’s drivers. The study was carried out for the insurance company Confused.com and shows that up to 20% of British drivers admit to using drugs while at the wheel. This contrasts strongly with official police data for drivers caught under the influence of drugs in 2012. This information shows that only 1,132 people were caught drug driving in 2012, down by 12.5% from the 1,294 in 2011. The data reveal