News

Brazilian demolition specialist Comprex was chosen to demolish a bridge connecting districts in the city of Vitória in the state of Espirito Santo. For environmental reasons, debris was not permitted to fall into the waterway under the bridge, and special arrangements had to be made for the removal of the demolition waste. Comprex chose Atlas Copco hydraulic breakers and CombiCutters for the jobsite where three new bridges have been built over the old bridge, which was no longer able to support the increasi

Chinese company, Fujian Saibang Leasing, has bought the new Sandvik DH350 compact drill rig, the first machine to have been developed and manufactured at Sandvik’s Jiading R&D centre in China. Globally launched at bauma China in 2012, the company said that the DH350 is proving ideal for a variety of construction drilling projects. The new Sandvik DH350 is a diesel-powered, crawler-mounted, self-contained down-the-hole drilling rig, that has been designed for drilling with 3”, 4”, and 5” hammers in the 89–15

A Cement + Minerals road show to South America, organised by the German VDMA, is said to have been a success. The event was arranged by the Association on Construction Equipment and Building Material Machinery, part of VDMA, along with seven of its member companies. In 2012, Latin America represented 7.6% of all exports done by German manufacturers of mining machinery equalling €5.78 billion/US$7.6 billion). These markets ranked fifth among the biggest export countries following Russia, Australia, the USA,

Cemex in the Philippines is providing cement for the Millennium Road Project. This is part of a US$214million infrastructure package that will connect 15 municipalities in Samar, a province located in the country’s Eastern Visayas region. Phase one is expected to reach completion by November 2013. Cemex’s APO cement plant, which is situated strategically in the Visayas, will supply the required materials via its jetty port, considered the most modern facility of its type in the country to date. The project

Inframachineries is Sandvik Construction’s new distributor for the mobile crushing and screening product range for the Philippines. Inframachineries will supply a comprehensive range of Sandvik mobile equipment and provide full aftermarket care, spare parts and dedicated customer service. Sandvik says customers throughout the Philippines will now be able to benefit from even greater levels of support through Inframachineries.

The organisers of the BICES 2013 event due in China’s capital Beijing from October 15th–18th are confident the event will prove successful. The 12th Beijing International Construction Machinery Exhibition and Seminar (BICES 2013) will be held at the Beijing Jiuhua International Exhibition Center just outside the city. BICES 2013 is expected to achieve new break through: the scale is expected to reach 230,000㎡, the number of exhibitors is going to be over 1500. In addition, more domestic and international vi

NDS, the Slovak national motorway company, plans to spend US$2.21 billion (€1.7bn) between 2013 and 2016 on motorway construction projects in the Zilina region of Slovakia. Milan Gajdos, the firm’s managing director and chairman, said that post 2016 a further $1.04 billion (€800mn) will be invested in the region. Currently, tenders worth $1.82 billion (€1.4bn) for motorway projects in the region are already underway, including tenders for stretches of the D1 and D3 motorways. It is still not known whether t

An agreement on the Peace Bridge, among the busiest crossings between the United States and Canada, has been reached. The deal calls for the immediate implementation of several projects connected to the Bridge which runs from Buffalo, New York State to Fort Erie, Ontario. These include a pre-inspection project to have cargo trucks bound to the US inspected in Fort Erie to lessen pollution and congestion on the US part of the crossing, and a research project focusing on the feasibility of expanding the US pl

IL&FS Transportation Networks (ITNL) has formed a tie-up with Japanese company East Nippon Expressway Company (East Nippon) to jointly undertake highway projects in India through public private partnerships (PPP). Under the tie-up, the partners aim to leverage technology as well as financial assistance from Japan besides carrying out technical and pre-feasibility studies and other related works on potential road projects. ITNL is a subsidiary of infrastructure developer IL&FS.

A new team has been established by the US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) to ensure telematics technologies being offered by different firms will be compatible. The telematics task force is providing the AEM members with a comprehensive industry response to end-user requests for a standard machine data interface. The team is working to reach a consensus on an industry telematics data standard that will enable equipment manufacturers to support the needs of contractors, rental houses and d

A new team has been established by the US-based Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) to ensure telematics technologies being offered by different firms will be compatible. The telematics task force is providing the AEM members with a comprehensive industry response to end-user requests for a standard machine data interface. The team is working to reach a consensus on an industry telematics data standard that will enable equipment manufacturers to support the needs of contractors, rental houses and d

Plans are in hand in New Zealand for a massive programme of infrastructure works around the country’s largest city, Auckland. The New Zealand Government intends to invest some US$7.8 billion (NZ$10 billion), which will be spent on upgrading existing highway links and building the second Auckland Harbour Bridge. The existing Auckland Harbour Bridge sees heavy traffic flows at peak periods in particular and the new structure is necessary to reduce congestion and cut journey times. The programme of infrastruct

Bidding is strong for the contract to build and operate a key stretch of highway in Mexico in a project expected to cost some US$179 million. The Siglo XXI highway will be constructed in Morelos State in Mexico's Morelos state. The deal is for a 30 year concession for the 62km section of highway, which will connect Jantetelco with El Higuerón. The Spanish contractor Acciona is one of several firms preparing its bid for the project and the company is also interested in other Mexican infrastructure works, wit

The expertise of Nitrex Explosives Engineering were utilised recently for this eye-catching controlled explosion bringing down the Viadotto Ponte Autostrade Pecorone di Lauria (Lauria Junction viaduct) in Lauria, Potenza, southern Italy. Ice and salt had degraded the viaduct, necessitating a rebuild. A new viaduct will better withstand the snowy mountain climate of the Potenza region.