News

The Malacca state government in Malaysia will spend US$196.75 million (MYR 612.30mn) to build and improve roads in the state. The budget will develop 73 road projects that will connect more places within the state.

A unit of China State Construction International Holdings (China State Construction) has signed a US$617.4 million (HKD 4.79bn) contract with the Highways Department of Hong Kong. The company will build a 150m long slip road tunnel beneath the Victoria Park Road and the northern area of Victoria Park. A 300m twin box tunnel section will also be built by China State Construction under the seabed of Causeway Bay Typhoon Shelter, as part of the 4.5km Central-Wan Chai Bypass development.

Research into the risks posed by the use of smartphones by drivers has revealed extremely worrying results. An international study into this field has shown that using cellphones to send texts while at the wheel can deliver significant risks for vehicle occupants as well as others. The study has shown that sending texts while at the wheel presents a similar safety risk to being 25% over the legal limit for alcohol in the bloodstream. In addition the study has shown that using hands-free telephone technology

In the Indian state of Bihar, investment is underway to improve the infrastructure links with neighbouring Nepal. Some US$109 million is being invested in the plan. The new road links will boost transport connections between Nepal and India and provide an economic boost in terms of trade between the two nations.

Discussions on the next stage of engine emissions controls for Europe will commence in due course. This will follow the completion of the EC Consultation process on Stage V Emissions, which is being closed shortly. The consultation on the next round of changes to the engine emissions directive has been taking key topics under consideration. This is reviewing possible extensions to the legislation to include large and small engines and more petrol engines. Setting new stages including a Stage V with particle

Europe’s construction contracting association, the FIEC, is calling for increased investment in training programmes for the construction sector. FIEC president Thomas Schleicher spoke at the Tripartite Social Summit as part of the employers’ delegation, co-chaired by Irish prime minister Enda Kenny, the President of the European Council Herman Van Rompuy and the president of the European Commission José Manuel Barroso. Schleicher said, “The focus of this Summit was on the challenges of the recovery and the

Itaipu Binacional and Parque Tecnologico de Itaipu (PTI) are said to be in the planning stages of developing a second electric car in Paraguay, following on from the Aguara electric prototype car. The new small family electric car will be able to travel 100km-120km on a full battery charge, reaching a maximum speed of 100km/h. The ultimate aim is to depend less on imported fuels.

Italian motorway operator SIAS saw a rise in net profits to €508 million (US$ 661.99mn) in 2012, from €180.6 million the previous year. The firm’s Ebitda was down by 14.7% to €558 million, while revenues decreased to €853 million, down by 0.8%, traffic dropped by 7.48% and road infrastructure investments amounted to €272 million. Sias's saw a reduction of €235 million in its net debt to €1.521 billion. The company has proposed an overall dividend of €273 million, corresponding to €1.2 per share.

A ‘pay-as-you-go’ policy is set to be introduced on some of Taiwan’s national freeways from August or September 2013, the country’s Minister of Communications, Yeh Kuang-shih, has revealed. People driving along north-south freeways will get 20km of toll-free distance before having to pay a fee. According to results of a survey carried out by the National Freeway Bureau (NFB), the 20km toll-free policy was supported by 40% of Taiwan's population. The ministry will soon be briefing parliament’s Transportation

Innovative simulation technology is now available from German specialist, CONWORLD. The company claims its technology can be used for operator training, with simpler systems also available for gaming. The company says that its simulator systems can be used to educate construction machine drivers at the beginner level and save on diesel fuel, as well as reducing the risk of damage to costly machines and potential accidents.

The powerful THOR 1721K from the ZB Group in Spain offers high production shredding of materials for recycling purposes. This sophisticated, self-propelled, heavy duty, mobile hammer shredder unit is a high performance, autonomous machine that can shred and recycle ferrous and non-ferrous materials, reinforced concrete, and some other materials also.