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Liebherr reports a record turnover for 2015 at €9.237 billion. This is the highest figure in the Liebherr Group’s history and represents an increase of €414 million or 4.7 % over with 2014. Some €751 million was invested in the business in 2015. Business in Western Europe saw an increase in turnover. Among the contributing factors were positive developments in Germany, the UK and the Netherlands. Sales revenue dropped, however, in France, the Group’s third-largest market. Turnover increased in volume

Work on a major interchange project in the UAE is on track. The US$184.3 million interchange project includes building a new road link to Abu Dhabi’s International Airport. The work is complex, with 5.6km of connecting roads, 4.8km of bridges and an overpass and underpass that provide a connection for the E12 route leading to Yas Island. Highway widening work is also included as well as the construction of secondary roads and a new drainage system to handle floodwater. The work has been needed to meet antic

Work on a major highway route in Greece is due for completion in March 2017. The country’s economic woes have resulted in delays to numerous road projects, however the Corinth-Patras route will be ready for traffic in March 2017. This will improve transport connections between Greece’s second largest city, Corinth and its third largest city, Patras.

India is working on a master plan that will boost transport across the country. This calls for the construction of a grid pattern of highways, with the concept strongly influenced by the US interstate system. The four-lane, national highway corridors plan has been developed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). This envisages a total of 27 highways set out on a grid pattern and with a total length of 36,600km, with north-south and east-west routes spaced some 250km apart. The plan calls for

Portuguese engineering and infrastrucure firm Mota-Engil and the Paraguayan company Concret Mix were the soul bidders for a turn-key contract to repair and upgrade Paraguay’s Route 9 Transchaco. The national highway project, costing nearly US$500 million covers around 530km. The Transchaco starts in Asunción – Paraguay’s capital and largest city - and ends at the border with Bolivia, traversing 835km. Work includes widening by a metre the 6m-wide highway that crosses the semi-arid Paraguayan Chaco, on

The California Transportation Foundation (CTF) has selected two projects carried out by Parsons for the 27th Annual CTF Transportation Awards. These are the I-15 Integrated Corridor Management System (ICMS) for Operational Efficiency Program of the Year and the Foothill Gold Line extension for Transit/Rail Project of the Year. As the I 15 ICMS integrator, Parsons installed its cutting edge Intelligent NETworks product to help connect multimodal and multiagency transportation systems along a 32km section

The latest report from Europe’s contractor association, the FIEC, shows that the recovery of the construction industry should continue, but at a slower pace. The FIEC reports a 2.4% recovery in activity in the overall EU construction industry in 2015 and forecasts an increase of 2.1% in 2016. “After reaching the bottom in 2013 activity is slowly recovering in the construction industry,” said FIEC Vice-President Jean-Louis Marchand, responsible for economic issues, as he presented FIEC’s annual statistics

Chile is pushing ahead with infrastructure development. The Ministry of Public Works intends to award five to seven projects during 2016. The Ministry of Public Works has also set a target of having 12-13 major infrastructure projects being awarded and worth a total of US$6 billion by the time the current administration comes to the end of its term. One road project due to be awarded shortly is for the phase two of the Vespucio Oriente link. The tender is expected to open in July 2016. The projects for t

Demand for electric vehicles (EVs) is growing in China. A report from the Shanghai Daily said that data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed EV sales reached 90,000 units, 131% higher in January-April 2016 than for the same period in the previous year. Demand for EVs is particularly strong in the major Chinese cities. Vehicle buyers in Beijing have to submit a request for a vehicle registration. Official data shows that applications for EV registrations reached 17,600, an increase o

Russia is setting out plans for development of its transport network, with road construction and maintenance amongst the areas being prioritised. The new plan will run from 2016-2021 and has been established by the Transport Ministry. In all the country intends to spend close to US$90 billion developing transportation. The construction of new federal highways and rebuilding of existing links will be high on the agenda for action. During 2016, the plans call for 360km of new motorways opening for traffic.

The Indonesian Government is continuing with its massive programme of toll road expansion work. Deals for a number of key projects have now been agreed, with the work costing a total of US$3.63 billion in all. Construction activity will see the development of these important routes. Several of the road projects are being carried out under the PPP model. These include a 30km link in Banten that will connect Serpong with Balaraja, a 37km road in East Java from Pandaan to Malang and a 99km road in East Kaliman

Argentina has set out plans for a major refurbishment of much of its dilapidated road network. The work will take four years to complete and involves building 2,800km of highways as well as 4,000km of trunk roads. This is a substantial programme of works, which should also deliver around 35,000 much-needed jobs. The Ministry for Transport has drawn up the schedule work the programme, which is expected to cost in the region of US$14.43 billion. The country’s total road system stretches for some 182,000km

Work on five road projects will commence shortly in Ethiopia. The works are for a total of 347km of roads in all and the contracts were awarded by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) recently. Three of the projects are for building new roads while the other two involve upgrading and maintaining existing links. The work is worth a total of US$245.45 million, with all of the projects being handled by local contractors that are state-owned. Amhara Roads Works Enterprise will carry out work on the third pha