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Work on the €7 billion immersed tunnel under the Fehmarnbelt could begin in 2020, according to the Danish state planning and operating company Femern. A construction start has been delayed on the 18km tunnel that will run between Germany and Denmark because of environmental and consultation issues in Germany. But Claus Baunkjaer, chief executive of Femern, said he is confident that Germany will give approval next year with another two years of preparations. Baunkjaer noted that Denmark is all set to p

Strong demand for exhibition space is being claimed by the organisers for the bauma CONEXPO AFRICA off-highway equipment exhibition. The event is planned for March 13th – 16th 2018 and will be held at the Johannesburg Expo Centre in South Africa. The show organisers are bullish for the event, saying that a resurgence in the market for construction in the Sub-Sahara region is helping fuel interest in the exhibition. Market demand for construction machines is also said to be growing in South Africa, further b

The risk of road crashes in the Netherlands appears to be on the increase. So far in 2017 there has been an increase in the number of road crashes, with rescue vehicles having to be called out to haul away damaged trucks and cars. Compared with the same January – October period for 2013, there has been a 27% increase in the number of road crashes to 25,963 in which damaged vehicles had to be removed. This data comes from Stichting Incident Management Nederland. The use of cellphones by drivers is thought to

Plans are being drawn up in China for a new mega tunnel project in Guangdong Province. Details of the project, to connect Shenzhen and Zhongshan, have been released by the official Chinese news agency Xinhua. The 6.8km undersea stretch of tunnel will carry eight lanes, making it the world’s widest undersea road tunnel.

Further progress is being made with the landmark Agua Negra Tunnel project that will connect Argentina and Chile. The new tunnel will run through the Andes mountain range, providing an improved highway link between the two nations, boosting trade and transport. The consortia pre-qualified for the tender process will be announced during November 2017.

The tender process is now complete for the Shantou Bay Crossing in China. This link will be 10km long and will connect the East Coast Expressway with the Haojiang Guangda Expressway. The project is expected to cost US$1.27 billion to construct. The new link will improve transport connections close to Shantou City in China’s Guangdong Province, reducing journey times for drivers using the existing routes.

A series of safety upgrades will be introduced for Australia’s historic Great Ocean Road. The Australian Federal Government and Victoria Government are co-funding improvement works worth nearly US$40 million (A$40 million).

Melbourne’s major tolled highway project is due to open to traffic shortly, some three months earlier than originally anticipated. The CityLink project has been a major one for Victoria State and has added new lanes for the route along a length of 30km. Carrying around 210,000 vehicles/day, the CityLink route handles the highest levels of any traffic route in Melbourne. The addition of the new lanes on the route has formed part of the major Tulla Widening Project by VicRoads to improve road connections in V

Plans are now in hand in Papua New Guinea (PNG) to improve the Highlands Highway, which links Mount Hagen with Nadzab Airport. The work is expected to cost US$700 million and the tender process will open shortly, with construction work timed to commence in the second quarter of 2018. However the project will pose a number of challenges and the improvement works could take as long as 10 years to complete. Funding for the project will be supplied by the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Plans have been unveiled in China for a new mega highway project. A 452km link will is envisaged that will run from Panzhihua to Yibin New City in Sichuan. Because of the complex geography of the area, the highway will feature a total of 132 tunnels, which will measure 238km in all. The predicted cost of the highway is US$13.44 billion. The tunnels are a major reason for the high price of the project as they will increase the complexity of the work.

Cummins is expanding its portfolio of electric drive technologies with the acquisition of the assets of Brammo, Inc. The firm designs and develops battery packs for use in mobile and stationary drive applications. The purchase of the Brammo battery pack technology will help boost the range of systems and expertise for Cummins. With this deal Cummins intends to become a global leader in the market for electric drives, complementing its range of compression ignition and turbocharging technologies.

Cummins is expanding its portfolio of electric drive technologies with the acquisition of the assets of Brammo, Inc. The firm designs and develops battery packs for use in mobile and stationary drive applications. The purchase of the Brammo battery pack technology will help boost the range of systems and expertise for Cummins. With this deal Cummins intends to become a global leader in the market for electric drives, complementing its range of compression ignition and turbocharging technologies.