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Caterpillar has seen a drop in its turnover due to tough conditions in many of its key markets but chairman and CEO Doug Oberhelman is bullish about the firm’s future. Technology is the focus for Caterpillar and Oberhelman said, “We’ve always been the leader in construction iron and now we’ll be the leader in smart iron too. We’ve been offering connectivity solutions for years and we now have the largest connected industrial fleet for the industries we serve. Every machine and even drones can share informat

LiuGong is hungry to increase its European market share – and is forecasting 500 unit sales in the continent in 2016. The Chinese construction equipment manufacturing giant is this week showcasing a number of Tier 4 Final/Stage IV compliant models for European customers - including the popular 856H wheeled loader and 925E and 933E excavators. Zeng Guang’an, chairman of LiuGong Group, said that Europe was one of the company’s biggest markets – with the UK alone tipped by the firm to reach over 250 unit sale

The bauma 2016 exhibition marks a major change for the Wirtgen Group with the firm having its biggest ever stand at the show and the second largest at the event itself. A key factor in this is the addition of the Benninghoven asphalt plant business, although the firm has a huge array of equipment in all with no less than 30 new models being launched. Benninghoven dominates the booth - its large asphalt plant is the highest structure ever seen at the show.

The Canadian city of Montreal will invest a record US$408 million on infrastructure improvements this year, around half to spent on road upgrades and the other half on water projects. One of the city’s executive committee members, Lionel Perez, said much is being done to mitigate problems for drivers and cyclists during prolonged construction periods, according to a report in the Montreal Gazette newspaper. Perez said drivers on rue St-Denis, a main shopping street, can now use bluetooth technology to

Kenya will receive up to US$284.75 million from France for infrastructure development. The funding includes loans and grants and will be used to finance several infrastructure projects. Kenya will use a significant portion to finance its Last Mile Connectivity Programme. Another portion will be spent on the second phase of the Roads 2000 Programme. In addition, Kenya has secured funding for the East Africa Development Bank.

Saudi Arabia’s shockingly high crash rate is providing cause for concern. Research suggests that the country could see up to 1.1 million road crashes in 2016. This data comes from statistics provided by Najm Insurance Services of Saudi Arabia. The firm’s studies suggest that the number of motor vehicle crashes in the country could increase from 962,000 in 2015 and top 1.1 million in 2016. The insurance firm estimates that 17 people/day die due to road crashes in Saudi Arabia. It is also estimated that less

The Swiss Government has announced plans to invest over €596 million/year in improvements to the country’s road infrastructure. The money will be placed in the newly created national roads fund. This money will largely come from government income from car road taxes and taxes from the sale of fuel.

Concern is being expressed at the rapid rise in road deaths in Myanmar. The road fatality rate has increased substantially in recent years, as has the number of vehicles on the country’s road network. In the period from 2009-2014, the number of registered vehicles in Myanmar more than doubled. And in 2014 the World Health Organisation highlighted its concern that Myanmar’s road death rate had more than tripled in less than 10 years. According to official data, Myanmar had over 15,000 road crashes, 25,000

Moves are underway in the Netherlands that could see only electric cars being sold in the country from 2025. Proposals are now being made to ban the sale of diesel and petrol fuelled cars in the country, with these having passed initial stages of acceptance by the Dutch Government according to reports in the local press, DutchNews. The plan forms part of the country’s drive to meet pledges made at the most recent UN Conference on Climate Change, which was held in Paris in 2015.

French firm Egis is reporting improved group performance with its latest financial results. In 2015, the Group’s managed turnover amounted to €937 million, up 10% compared with 2014 (€854 million). This growth can be attributed to acquisitions which account for approximately 6%, but it is also due to business development: 4% excluding scope effects. Following a drop in 2014, the order intake for engineering has resumed an upward trend. It represented 14 months of business in 2015, taking the order book t

A new joint venture team will carry out the construction of a major new highway project in Indonesia. The project will see the construction of the Serpong Balaraja highway in Tangerang Regency. Construction is due to commence in July 2016 with the work expected to cost over US$452.5 million. The partnership will be headed by local firm Bumi Serpong Damai (BSD), with a 50% stake. Its partners will be Transindo Karya Investama and Astratel Nusantara, both with 25% shares in the partnership.

Major road widening projects for Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand have been awarded by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). Local construction company PNC Infratech will widen key routes in Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. One of the projects will be to widen a 102km stretch of the Nagina-Kashipur section of NH-74 00 to four lanes. The contract is worth some US$174.2 million.