News

Italian manufacturers of construction equipment are benefiting from good export sales at present. While sales of off-highway construction machines in Italy are weak at present, the manufacturers are seeing steady overseas sales. The manufacuring association, UNACEA, says that over the first half of 2012, construction equipment sales in the Italian market decreased by 32% to 3,172 units, compared to the same period of 2011.

In Sri Lanka up to 210 rural bridges will be built or repaired around the country following a financial deal worth US$44.14 million agreed with the Hong Kong & Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC). The deal was arranged between the Sri Lankan Government and the HSBC in a bid to improve rural connectivity. The bridges measure from 6-30m in length and will be built by Cleveland Bridge UK. The plan is for the bridges to be completed within a three year period.

Road safety levels continue to deteriorate in Morocco, despite a series of policies introduced by the government and a tougher process of enforcement. The country has a human population of 32 million, along with 2.7 million registered vehicles and last year saw 15,000 people severely injured in road accidents, leaving them with long term disabilities.

GE researchers, in partnership with Ford Motor Company and the University of Michigan, are working together to develop a smart, miniaturised sensing system that has the potential to significantly extend the life of car batteries over conventional battery systems used in electric vehicles today. “The car battery remains the greatest barrier and most promising opportunity to bringing EVs mainstream.” said Aaron Knobloch, principal investigator and mechanical engineer at GE Global Research.

The Malaysian the government will use over 1,000 cameras to monitor roads nationwide under its Automated Enforcement System (AES) scheme. The programme will see 250 mobile cameras, 566 fixed speed cameras and 265 traffic light cameras being used to monitor the roads. It is claimed that each camera will be able to capture around 600 road offenders daily.

The upcoming Asphaltica exhibition in the Italian city of Padova will be a major launch venue for new asphalt road technologies. The sixth edition of Asphaltica, the only European event dedicated to asphalt, bitumen and road infrastructure, will take place from 21 - 23 November 2012 at the PadovaFiere exhibition centre.

DMCI Holdings (DMCI) of the Philippines, in partnership with the San Miguel Corporation, is expected to carry out a road project to link two major expressways in the country. The link is part of road projects valued at US$901.65 million (PHP 38 billion) that Metro Pacific Tollways intends to carry out over the next five years. DMCI was the contractor for the second phase of the 30km Metro Manila Skyway project, through its construction unit, DM Consunji. The second phase of the Skyway project involved build

Six companies have submitted bids for a US$87.62 million (ARS 400million) road construction deal in Santiago del Estero in Argentina. Jose Cartellone Construcciones Civiles; Petersen Thiele & Cruz; Eleprint; Mijovi; Benito Roggio e Hijos; and Supercemento are interested in the project . The 70km road will link La Banda and Amama.

The organisers of the bC India 2013 construction equipment exhibition report strong bookings for the event, which is scheduled for 5th-8th February 2013 in Mumbai. The second edition of this event, it is expected to host 700 exhibitors and attract over 30,000 visitors. The show will occupy 130,000m2 of exhibition space at the Bandra Kurla Complex, an increase from the 88,000m2 occupied during the last fair.

The Philippines Government appointed National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) Investment Coordination Committee-Cabinet Committee (ICC-CabCom) has approved the Cavite-Laguna Expressway (CALAX) project.

The latest research into electric vehicles suggests that range extensions of 10% or even more can be achieved through the utilisation of smart traffic technologies. By combining information gleaned from real-time traffic information, road type and gradient and also vehicle payload, researchers at the University of California, Riverside believe they can optimise route and performance to extend the range of electric vehicles.

The US-based Historical Construction Equipment Association (HCEA) is holding its 27th annual event from September 14th-16th in Ohio. The Annual International Convention and Old Equipment Exposition will be located at the National Construction Equipment Museum in Bowling Green, Ohio. The show features demonstrations and displays of old construction and quarrying machinery, including horse-drawn, steam, petrol and diesel-powered equipment, cable and hydraulic shovels and cranes and old trucks.

Highway managers in Malaysia face having their road maintenance funding slashed if they do not spend their current budgets. In a surprise announcement this week, the Malaysian government warned that states which “fail to manage and utilise funds allocated for road maintenance from the Federal Government risk having their provisions reduced in the future.”

The authorities in Vietnam have identified the need for major investment in road infrastructure in Ho Chi Minh City. To bring the city’s transport infrastructure up to the necessary standard, some US$4 billion will be required/year over the next 10 years, according to local officials.

Preliminary works are now underway on a crucial link in the new road connections for New Zealand city Auckland. A 30m deep trench is being excavated that will form the start point for the tunnel boring machine (TBM) drive. The 2.4km long, twin tube tunnels will cost some US$1.13 billion (NZ$1.4 billion) to construct and will be driven using the TBM. The project team plans to commence the TBM drive in 2013.