Search

The Secretary General of the World Road Association-PIARC has stressed the need for urgent unified action to maintain international road infrastructure. Jean-François Corté, whose association unites the road administrations of 120 governments and has members, individuals, companies, authorities and organisations in over 140 countries, spoke ahead of the keenly awaited PPRS Paris 2015 Congress 22-25 February 2015, which he is chairing. Emphasising the importance of quality road infrastructure and the need

‘How to become more agile in a fast changing environment?’ will be the core topic of this year’s CECE (Committee for European Construction Equipment) congress being held 16-17 October in Antwerp, Belgium. Despite what the CECE describe as good signs for 2014, the situation for the construction equipment industry in Europe remains challenging. Debt problems have not been solved by many countries, demand is only slightly picking up, labour costs are high, products are changing fast and competition from outs

A large number of road projects are planned as part of the US$16 billion (SAR 60 billion) Makkah Gate residential project in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Makkah Gate Company (MGC) has revealed that the huge project will cover an area of 90mn m² about 14km west of Makkah’s Grand Mosque. According to MCC, a non-profit company, it will comprise 45 model districts that include road projects, shopping malls, university, an amusement park, cultural facilities, a complex for government offices, museums and h

Police in Singapore are to trade in their old-school red light cameras for modern digital red light models. An order for 240 sets of digital cameras has been placed by the police with German firm Jenoptik. The order for the 11 megapixel cameras is said to be valued at a “few million [Singapore] dollars”. Around 240 new speed cameras and digital red light cameras will be installed in Singapore by mid-2015. Instead of having to process and retrieve the film, the new digital cameras will enable the authority t

In a bid to reduce Indonesia’s high death toll of motorcyclists in road accidents, the country’s government is looking into the feasibility of setting a speed limit for motorcycles. Government officials have sought advice from the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA), with the latest Indonesian National Police's statistics showing that motorcyclists accounted for 64% of the over 100,000 road accidents recorded in 2013. A feasibility study is expected to be launched by the end of 2014,

The Governor of Russia’s Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, wants to renovate the M10 Scandinavia highway under the public-private partnership scheme and introduce a toll for using several of its sections. A key 872km highway connecting Russia’s two biggest cities, Moscow and St Petersburg, and continuing to the border with Finland, the Scandinavia highway brings in 20-25% of Russia's overall import. Drozdenko said that a trip from St. Petersburg to Vyborg, near Russia’s Finnish border, may cost €8.57

The Mexican state of Guanajuato is to invest US$287.74 million (MXN 3.7 billion) in roads infrastructure projects. Announcing the investment, Guanajuato state governor Miguel Marquez Marquez said the funds would cover over 300 construction, refurbishment, connectivity and modernisation projects. It is part of Marquez's so-called ‘Impulso’ programme which covers several areas of his administration, such as economic development, infrastructure and social programmes. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Mexico, it has em

The CEO of Zambia's Road Development Agency, Bernard Chiwala, said work on the construction of a USD$259 million bridge between the country and Botswana will begin in June 2014. The project is funded by the governments of Botswana, Zambia, and Japan as well as the African Development Bank. According to Chiwala, the contract for building the Zambia-Botswana bridge will be awarded in Botswana in the near future. The structure is scheduled for completion in four years and will replace the ferry service betwee

India’s highways department is preparing a detailed project report for the country’s 138km US$2.29 billion corridor project. The corridor will connect Pooncheri with Kattupalli and Ennore ports, skirting Chennai to facilitate easy movement of container traffic. It wwill see over 900 hectares of land being acquired, and will involve widening of existing roads, flyovers, over-bridges, bridges and interchanges.