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Work on the eastern section of the Hunter Expressway project in New South Wales in Australia will be carried out by Theiss. The firm won the deal for preliminary design and development of the US$736 million (A$825 million) project, which is for a 13.3km section of the link. Theiss is working on the project with Hyder Consulting and Parsons Brinkerhoff. Once the Hunter Expressway is complete in late 2013, it will cut travel times from the Hunter to Newcastle by 28 minutes.

Spain’s Indra has announced it is leading a consortium of nine companies on the Ciudad 2020 project to address innovation in transportation, the Internet of the future, energy efficiency, environmental sustainability and the relationship between citizens and their city. The project is one of the first industrial research projects within the Innpronta Programme of Spain’s Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness' Centre for Technological Industrial Development (CDTI). Ciudad 2020, which has a US$20.5 million

UK-based engineering firm Scott Wilson has been acquired by the URS Corporation. The size of the deal has not been released at this stage. Scott Wilson is a major engineering firm with an international reputation for its work. The company has carried out a number of key infrastructure engineering projects around the world. With the completion of the Scott Wilson transaction, URS also will add significant international projects outside of the UK, including the Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Development in

The Highway Code in Morocco is to be amended after failing to lower the number of traffic accidents. The country’s transport federation has proposed a series of recommendations. These include modifying an article so the responsibility of pedestrians in traffic accidents is taken into account, and handing them fines if the law is not respected. Transport operators also want reduced fines and prison sentences for those at fault in an accident.

Talboom group of Belgium is to build an access road to the Jon d'Ebra Bay luxury complex in Cape Verde, in July 2012. The complex will include a US$63.31million hotel and 200 residences in the second phase, which will follow the building of 30 luxury residences in December 2012.

Turkey is continuing its development of new highway links, with plans for a new highway connecting the cities of Rize and Mardin. When complete in 2023, the new highway will pass through 15 cities in all and reduce the travel time between Rize and Mardin to 5-6 hours compared with 12 at present. Turkey is investing heavily in transport as part of its development programme.Turkey is continuing its development of new highway links, with plans for a new highway connecting the cities of Rize and Mardin. When co

The Governor of São Paulo, Geraldo Alckim, has confirmed that the regional road development agency Dersa, has received 25 pre-qualification bids for the tender to build six phases of the north stretch of the Brazilian city’s ring road. Of the bids, 17 are organised in consortia. Companies from Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Mexico, Argentina and Korea are among those seeking the ring road tender. The reference price of the major infrastructure project is estimated at US$ 3.11billion, and the International

According to a study released at a spinal research conference, the spinal disks in the human body are able to protect themselves. This is of particular importance to the off-highway equipment sector, where there is debate over the long term effects of operating heavy equipment. Seat specialist Grammer and the European Spine Journal sponsored the award scheme, won by a research group headed by Dr Christopher A Sharp and also including professor Sally Roberts, Dr Helena Evans and Dr Sharon J Brown.

Work on El Salvador's Carretera Longitudinal del Norte (CLN) highway will now include additional sections. This has been made possible due to cost savings made in previous tenders. A seventh section of the highway will now be built between Corinto en Morazan, Lislique and Anamoros, in the department of La Union.

One of the largest construction programmes in Europe is being carried out to get a Russian resort ready for the Winter Olympics. Patrick Smith reports. Daytime temperatures top 30°C in September, and with hundreds of shops and hotels, it is not difficult to see why Sochi has become Russia's premier holiday playground. The city, on the east coast of the Black Sea, near the border with Georgia, bustles with tourists, and this is boosted with delegates at the 9th International Investment Forum Sochi 2010.

The consortium building Australia's new Northern Link tollway expects the project to require four years to complete. The US$1.41 billion (A$1.5 billion) project is being carried out by a consortium led by Spanish contrator Acciona, with construction due to commence at the end of this year. The work is being part funded by a $745 million loan from the State Government for the area and will also receive $532 million of funding from the Federal Government.

IRF will host the Third Latin America Regional Congress at the Crowne Plaza Tequendama Hotel in Bogotá, Colombia, from 8-11 November 2010 with the support of Colombia's Highway Safety Prevention Fund, the Inter-American Development Bank, the Colombian Ministry of Transport, the National Institute of Concessions, the National Highway Institute, and the Mobility Department of the City of Bogotá. The Congress will feature direct participation by leading local and regional decision-makers, including notably Ger

The Wirtgen Group has held a highly successful Technology Days event at the brand new Kleemann facility in Göppingen near Stuttgart. Some 2,600 people attended this year's event, the largest of the three held so far by the firm. A key focus for this year was highlighting the full integration of the Kleemann crushing equipment operation within the Wirtgen Group. The previous Technology Days events were held at the Hamm facility in Tirschenreuth and at the Wirtgen headquarters in Windhagen. Following the Kle

In Costa Rica delays have hit the channelling of a loan provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for infrastructure projects. The US$300 million loan granted from the IADB has yet to be invested into infrastructure projects. Some of the key works planned originally include new roads and bridges

The Chinese Government is boosting economic development in the Tibet autonomous region by commencing 781 rural road projects during its 11th five-year plan. This will see some 14,740km of rural road being constructed in Tibet. In all the rural road work is costing US$686 million, with the aim of increasing transport and trade.

The authorities in China's Shaanxi Province are working on a rural road improvement programme that will see existing links to outlying areas being upgraded and new transport connections being introduced. Some US$601 million has been budgeted for the work during 2010, with surfacing work being a key priority. In all Shaanxi Province aims to upgrade 10,000km of rural roads that connect to small communities and will also improve roads in the villages.

In Chile the Colombian highway operator ISA will carry out comprehensive repairs to Ruta 5 before the end of 2010. The company has been criticised by Chile’s Ministry for Public Works (MOP) for constant delays to road repair works following February's earthquake. The MOP threatened ISA with legal action, which prompted the new repair schedule being announced. Meanwhile work is commencing on the construction of 200km of highway near the northern city of Antofagasta in a project worth around US$320 million. T

The Indian Government is providing assistance for road construction work in neighbouring Nepal. This assistance is for building the Kulekhani – Kathmandu road section, which will be widened and upgraded with an asphalt surface. The road will be widened to 7.5m and the work is being carried out by Indian Contractor Golden Goods. Meanwhile asphalt surfacing work is has now been completed on Nepal’s Hetauda-Bhimphedi-Kulekhani-Pharphing-Chaimale road Section. Surfacing work is in hand on the remaining 21km sec

A joint venture formed by SNC Lavalin and Cintra Infrastructure will handle the contract to extend Highway 407 in Canada. This US$974.4 million (C$1 billion) deal was awarded by the authorities in Ontario to a joint-venture called the 407 East Development Group General Partnership and is a partnership between Spanish firm Cintra (a subsidiary of Ferrovial) and Canadian company SNC-Lavalin of Canada. The partnership will build, design and maintain Phase 1 of the new Highway 407 East. The construction work is

Qatar plans to spend some US$20 billion on building new roads over a five year period. The country’s infrastructure plans also include $11 billion of investment in a new airport and a $1 billion connection from the new airport to mega projects in Doha's northern region, as well as a new deepwater seaport and a new rail network.