News

Russia will shortly become part of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). This is a key development for the construction equipment market as all member states of the WTO will benefit economically by having favoured-nation trade status with Russia. The exception to this however will be the US, which is currently prevented from granting Permanent Normal Trade Relations with Russia until Congress repeals the Jackson-Vanik Amendment. This 1974 amendment was originally put in place in response to the Soviet Union p

Demand for construction machinery in China is expected to rise 6.2%/year to 387 billion yuan in 2015. This will be supported by continuing increases in construction spending, especially in infrastructure development. The data comes from a report by US-based research firm Freedonia Group. According to the report, growth in construction activity will be driven by continuing industrialisation but will be more moderate than in the 2005-2010 period. This will impact overall construction expenditures, which are e

The Highways Agency has awarded the second of its new Asset Support Contracts to Balfour Beatty Mott MacDonald. The contract involves maintaining and improving the network of motorways and major ‘A’ roads in the North West. It will cover the Agency’s roads in Cheshire, Greater Manchester, Merseyside and south Lancashire and will go live from November 2012. Cumbria and the remainder of Lancashire are covered by a separate contract. The key contract will ensure motorways and major 'A' roads in the region co

The Public Works Ministry in Kuwait is seeking bidders for a contract to design and build the US$1billion Doha Link bridge. The 16km long bridge will link the port village of Doha to Shuwaikh and will also be connected to the Subiya Causeway. A number of prequalified consortia have been invited to bid for the work by 27 November, 2012.

The price of building the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh could rise by 30% due to the depreciation of the taka against the US dollar and rising construction material prices. The bridge had been most recently forecast to cost US$2.9billion, with budgets previously having risen two-fold from the US$1.22billion funding package approved in 2007 by Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC).

The authorities in the US state of Ohio continue to investigate new methods of generating revenue for highway investment. The state is facing a funding shortfall of up to US$1.6 billion on its highway maintenance and expansion plans to meet traffic volume needs. As a result, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is moving forward with a plan to explore the commercial development of certain state-owned rest areas. The state is pursuing the conversion to service plazas of five of the state’s 59 non-int

Projections suggest that electric vehicle sales in Central and Eastern Europe will hit 60,000 by 2017. The estimate comes from a report by Frost & Sullivan and suggests that Central and Eastern Europe will see growing sales of these vehicles, bringing strong market potential for manufacturers. The Central and Eastern European nations have a population of over 100 million people and a solid macroeconomic environment. The report says EV sales could top 62,000 units by 2017, increasing from approximately 245 u

Dalian city, China, has set out a budget worth some US$2.3 billion for 45 key projects in 2012, including the construction of 300km of rural roads and 254km of trunk roads. Two highway construction projects stretching over 55km are also included: the Zhuanghe–Gaizhou Expressway and Dalian Bay Port Area Expressway. Changshan Bridge's main section is to be completed in 2012.

Mozambique’s road network will benefit from investment by Brazilian mining company Vale, which is to spend US$691million on the Nacala Corridor road project during 2012 to provide a key link to the Moatize II coal mining project, on which it is spending a further $499million. In all, Vale has planned total investments of $4.44billion on the Nacala Corridor and $2.07billion on the Moatize II mining project.

The Mongolian Government is to boost investment in the country’s road network to improve access in major towns and cities and connect outlying areas. Approved projects include repairing 35km of roads and building 25km of paved roads in the capital Ulaanbaater. Other projects include a 104km road between Mangdalgobi and Ulaanbaatar; a 45km road connecting Ondorkhaan with Monkhkaan, Baruun and Urt, and a 127km road between Tosontsengel and Tsakhiur. These will all be built by 2013.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing substantial funding to boost Serbia’s transport infrastructure. The EBRD's investments in Serbia for the 2000-2011 period total some €3billion for over 180 projects. For 2012 the EBRD is continuing its financial support of Serbia’s infrastructure, with the Corridor 10 highway being one of the key targets.

Design work is underway for the first section of the St Petersburg ring road in Russia, and work will be carried out from Gorskaya to Primorskoe in 2013 at a cost of some US$373million. The 24km road will be widened to six lanes and the road structure will be revamped with completion scheduled for 2015.

The award of a US$177million construction contract to Austria’s Strabag for a transport project in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam in late February has raised the hopes of the city becoming the first in the region to modernise urban transport through elimination of minibuses and private cars from the city centre. This will pave the way for the introduction of improved high- capacity buses (with capacity of 140 passengers) that would use non-polluting energy, hence reducing air pollution in this city of 2.