News

Leica Geosystems is to expand its operations following a move by its parent, Hexagon. Under the terms of this deal, Hexagon will acquire all outstanding shares of Navgeocom, which is the largest Russian distributor for Leica Geosystems. The acquisition marks another step in Hexagon's global distribution strategy, which aims to establish a strong direct presence in key markets. This will help Hexagon’s presence in Russia, which is benefiting from significant expenditure on infrastructure development at prese

Leica Geosystems is to expand its operations following a move by its parent, Hexagon. Under the terms of this deal, Hexagon will acquire all outstanding shares of Navgeocom, which is the largest Russian distributor for Leica Geosystems. The acquisition marks another step in Hexagon's global distribution strategy, which aims to establish a strong direct presence in key markets. This will help Hexagon’s presence in Russia, which is benefiting from significant expenditure on infrastructure development at prese

Austrian state-owned motorway operator Asfinag says it will invest US$ 1.28 billion (€960mn) in motorways and highways in 2013. This includes $466.65 million for maintenance. The rest is for new roads and extensions of existing ones. A total of $9.19 billion will be spent between now and 2018. The company said that its debts will rise from $15.73 billion to $15.99 billion. One focus will be on improving the safety of tunnels. Asfinag will also make an effort to avoid construction-related traffic jams.

Ecorodovias will only participate in two of the nine road segment tenders being issued by Brazil’s government in 2013, according to its president Marcelino Rafart de Seras. The goal for the road management firm is said to be the consolidation of work on strategic developments, as Ecorodovias is expanding operations to other sectors, such as logistics, port and airport businesses. In January-September 2012, Ecorodovias brought in $889.26 million (BRL 1.81bn) in turnover, with profits of $142.93 million and a

The new executive director of the Brussels-based Forum of European National Highway Research Laboratories (FEHRL) will be director of infrastructure at the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) Bob Collis. This international association comprises 30 national research and technical institutes from across Europe, with links to non-European countries. FEHRL’s mission is to promote and facilitate collaboration on road research and provide high quality information and advice on technologies and policies rela

In China’s Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, Zhejiang Province and Hunan Province, major infrastructure investment plans are being drawn up for 2013. In the Guangxi Zhuang autonomous region, an investment of US$17.7 billion will be made on transportation development. This will include work on four airports as well as building five highways with a combined length of 363km during the year. Meanwhile, in Zhejiang Province some $48.2 billion will be invested in developing the road network, of which $6.6 billion

Russia’s Ministry of Economic Development, Rusnano, the Federal Highway Agency, Governments of Moscow, the Tatarstan Republic (Volga), and the Ryazan region (Central) are planning to invest US$3.13 billion in a pilot project for innovative infrastructure projects. Called Innovative Roads, this joint federal pilot project is intended to increase road service life by three-five times, cut energy consumption for roads by 10-15 times, and lower the weight of bridges and barriers by three times. Inventory of roa

Bosch and PSA Peugeot Citroën are now working on a hydraulic hybrid powertrain for passenger cars. The system features two hydraulic units linked to pressure accumulators. Using this technology the vehicle can be driven using the conventional power source, hydraulically or by a combination of the two. Under low load, the internal-combustion engine can be run at a more economical operating status. When braking, kinetic energy is converted into hydraulic energy and stored in the pressure accumulator, which ca

Brazilian road and transport concessionaire CCR has begun studies with a view to taking part in various infrastructure projects in the Brazilian state of Sao Paulo. It is reported that the group is interested in state road projects and intercity/regional railroads, as well as more metro lines. CCR says it is also following transport opportunities in Rio de Janeiro and airport concessions for Galeao (Rio de Janeiro) and Cofins (Minas Gerais).

Poland's General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) is to announce a US$2.66 billion [€2bn] tender in mid-2013 for the construction of the A1 motorway between Pyrzowice near Katowice and Tuszyn near Lodz. According to the head of GDDKiA, the tender for the 140km-long road will be divided into sections of around 20km. The Polish government has given up on its original idea of constructing the road on a PPP model, since Eurostat insisted that the cost of the project should be added to Polan

The estimated maintenance and repair cost for Norway’s county roads has doubled to US$7.18 billion [NOK 40bn]. In 2010, the Norwegian Government transferred the responsibility of 44,000kms of roads to counties, while the state kept 10,000kms of trunk roads. At that time, the need for maintenance and repair of the 'new' county roads was estimated at around from $3.59 billion [NOK 20bn]. Head of the transport committee of Møre og Romsdal Oddbjørn Vatne says the program for the road maintenance has to be worke

The tender pre-selection process is underway for the new tunnel link that will connect Denmark with Germany. Danish state-owned company Femern said that interest is strong in the project to build the tunnel, which will run under the Baltic Sea. So far nine consortia comprising 24 companies in all are taking part in the tender pre-selection process. The Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link will feature an immersed tunnel and its construction is expected to cost some €5.5 billion. There are four main contracts including d

In Vietnam work is progressing steadily on the new Ca Pass Tunnel project. The 13.4km tunnel will connect Khanh Khoa Province with Phu Yen Province. The new tunnel connection is being constructed under the build-own-transfer (BOT) model and is scheduled to open for traffic in 2016. This new link will also include 9km of bridges and access roads. Some US$192 million of credit for the project is being provided to Ca Pass Investment by Goldman Sachs, Societe Generale (SocGen) and Crédit Agricole Corporate and

German company Ubitricity has developed a concept which allows for the recharging of electric vehicles at street lamps. Local authorities in Berlin, where Ubitricity is based, are said to be not averse to the idea of converting hundreds of street lamps to charging points. Ubitricity's concept provides for the integration of a counting system into an intelligent charging cable. This counting system contacts a control centre via mobile radio. The control centre registers after every charging where and how muc

The Ministry of Public Works (MOP) in Panama will put the rehabilitation and expansion of the 208km Santiago de Veraguas-David road out to tender in mid-2013. The works, part of which will create a larger four-lane highway, have been calculated to cost around US$ 700 million. Since 2009, President Ricardo Martinelli has contracted turn-key projects worth $3.4 billion.