News

The municipal government of Hanoi is to invest US $ 96.02 million to reduce traffic jams in 27 locations in the Vietnamese capital. Between 2012 and 2015, the government will build more parking lots and multi-story car parks in the city as well as eight new overpasses. Bus stations will be relocated from the city centre. Construction of arterial roads including Cat Linh-La Thanh-Thai Ha-Lang and Van Cao-Ho Tay will be quickened.

Road deaths in France were down 7.6% in August 2012 compared to the same month in 2011. In total, 342 people were killed in road accidents. During the first eight months of 2012, road deaths were down 8.9% compared to the same period of 2011, despite a 3.6% increase during the month of July. Between September 2011 and August 2012, the number of deaths was 3,728.

The America Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) is honouring Astec Industries Founder Don Brock with a lifetime award as a leader in the transportation design and construction industry. As a result ARTBA’s annual innovation event and awards programme has been renamed the, “Dr J Don Brock TransOvation Workshop & Awards Programme.”

LiuGong and ZF are intensifying their cooperation by building a new joint venture axle company in Liuzhou. China’s construction equipment manufacturer, LiuGong and German drivetrain specialist ZF-Group established a joint venture called ZF Liuzhou Axle. The new company will produce wheel loader axles that are specially tailored for the requirements of the Chinese market. In the long run some 190 employees will be working at Liuzhou Axle Co. Ltd. and more than 30,000 of the newly designed axles will be deliv

New Zealand transport minister, Gerry Brownlee, has announced plans for a US $ 10.3 billion program to improve public transport and roads. Under the three-year plan, authorities for the public transport system, state highways and local roads will receive $ 1.36 billion, $ 4.09 billion and $ 3.29 billion, respectively, for upgrades.

Albanian primeminister, Sali Berisha, has promised that his government will keep up its investment in road infrastructure projects, due to their importance to the economy. The PM was speaking at the launch of two new road sections, between Uzina e Autotraktoreve and Lanabregas, and the Bridge of Surrelit to Farka. Both of the sections were built using funding from the EBRD and the EIB, with some funding also being provided by the Albanian government.

Indonesia’s government is setting a US $ 20 billion budget for transport and energy sector development. The country’s president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, said the government plans to build 559km of new roads as part of a new transport infrastructure program.

A shortage of skilled engineers has caused a delay in the renovation of tunnels in Norway, according to Tore Braaten, project leader in the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (Statens Vegvesen). Braaten has called for the Ministry of Transport to attract expertise from abroad to improve the situation. Responding to Braaten, transport secretary, Lars Erik Bartnes, emphasised that the engineer shortage is a problem for tunnel renovation, rather than the construction of new tunnels.

The New Zealand government is to fund a NZ $ 10 million investment in additional speed cameras in a bid to improve road safety nationally. The ratio of speed cameras per 0.1mn people stands at 1.3 compared to 2.5 and 4.8 in the Australian states of New South Wales and Victoria, respectively. The New Zealand Transport Agency (NZTA) will use the government cash to increase the number of speed cameras from 55 to at least by 2015.

Povolzhupravtodor, a subsidiary of the Russian Federal Highway Agency, has announced a tender for major repairs of a 25km long section of Russia’s M5 Ural highway in the Samara area of Volga. The contract is estimated to be worth US $ 43.16 million.

In a bid to maintain services and reduce travel times for the Transantiago public transport system, the Chilean government will invest US $ 41.62 million in repairing and upgrading nearly 150km of roads in Santiago. Works are expected to be completed in 2013 and will include 31 different districts across the capital.

Work has begun on constructing a US $ 1.2 billion 144km highway between Zhengzhou and Zhoukou in China. The highway has a designed speed of 120km/hour and a width of 28m.

Taxis in Saudi Arabia must equipped with an Automated Vehicle Locators (AVL) system, as part of new regulations set to be introduced on 22 October, 2012. The AVL will record the drop-off and pick-up location of the taxis as well as their driving speed. Taxi firms will also need to include minimum third-party insurance coverage for each driver and vehicle.

In China, the news that the construction industry has been waiting for came with an announcement over infrastructure spending. The Chinese Government said it will invest heavily in infrastructure spending, particularly in extending the country’s high speed rail network. The news brought a flurry of trading on the Chinese stock market, seeing share price gains for various major Chinese construction equipment manufacturers including LiuGong, Sany and Shantui.

The ContiTech Power Transmission Group has pledged to continue its fight against product and brand counterfeiters after counterfeit V-ribbed belts, destined for passenger cars and sports utility vehicles (SUV), were discovered in a warehouse in Casablanca, Morocco. The retailer had already prepared them for sale but, after a tip-off from ContiTech, local authorities seized the belts and had them destroyed. The retailer now faces legal prosecution.