News

The first firm example of Chinese-European shared crane expertise is being unveiled today by Zoomlion. The Hunan-based manufacturer acquired technology from German-firm JOST and as a result is offering its novel T320 “topless” tower crane, the first in a new series of saddle jib machines from the firm. The new T320 tower crane is the first developed since Chinese purchase of JOST and meets all the European CE requirements for these machines. The crane combines quality German engineering with Zoomlion manufa

French firm Bolloré has developed an innovative lithium metal polymer (LMP) battery. This is the result of a 15 year research and development process. Low levels of interest by OEMs in the new system encouraged Bolloré to launch its own electric vehicle featuring this battery. Called the Bluecar, the vehicle is now available in Paris through the autolib scheme. The aim of the project is to have 1,100 rental stations, 3,000 Bluecars and 6,600 charging stations in 47 areas in the great Paris area.

A US$137.6 million investment is being targeted at the Pan Borneo Highway connecting the Malaysian states of Sarawak and Sabah. This investment will be supplied by Malaysia’s Federal Government. Overtaking lanes will be built at critical locations along the 207km stretch linking Bintulu and Miri as well as the 217km stretch connecting Bintulu and Sibu.

Michelin North America (MNA) has revealed plans for a new earthmover tyre plant in the United States as part of a $750million expansion set to create up to 500 manufacturing jobs. News of the proposed new site in Anderson County, South Carolina, comes after MNA revealed they would also be expanding their existing earthmover tyre plant in Lexington, also in South Carolina.

Work on Indonesia’s new Kartasura-Kebakkramat toll road is due for completion in 2014. The Public Works Ministry expects to complete the land acquisition process during this year. The budget for the project has not been disclosed so far. When it is complete, the 22km toll road project will connect with the Kertosono (East Java)-Surakarta (Central Java) toll road.

Sweden’s National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) is publishing a new report showing ways to improve road safety. Of note is the fact that the report does not recommend a ban on mobile phone use while driving. Instead, VTI believes that a package measures can train and support drivers to manage communications more safety. According to VTI, this will be more effective than a ban on the use of cell phones at the wheel. VTI claims that more information will enable drivers to understand when it is d

Delays in the award process will see awards for major road projects in Colombia. The road authority Invias has said it is holding back the award of road projects forming part of a concession package put until late April 2012. The contracts are for maintenance works on roads in various parts of Colombia. Bids have been placed bySolarte Solarte, Conalvias, Construcciones El Condor, Mario Alberto Huertas Cotes and Hidalgo e Hidalgo have submitted their own proposals for these projects. In all there are 16 sepa

Mexican construction firm Impulsora del Desarrollo y el Empleo en America Latina (Ideal) has won a major US$623.4 million contract to construct the Macrolibramiento de Guadalajara link in the country. This link is for a large-scale ring road in Mexico’s Guadalajara metropolitan zone.

Work on Latvia’s E22 highway is now delayed. Called the Moscow highway, delays will afflict the Riga-Koknese section of the E22. The opening of this section now looks likely to be delayed until 2014. The initial deadline for the project was to be late 2012. Land issues held back widening work but there are now disputes between the local authorities and the contractor. The delay has left unfinished and unusable main road sections in various areas.

Construction procurement agreements have been signed with the authorities handling the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge project. The project is worth US$11.56 billion and is is designed to have a lifespan of 120 years. The 50km bridge is planned to open for traffic in 2016 and will connect Zhuhai in China’s Guangdong Province with Macau and Hong Kong. Wuchang Shipbuilding Industry and China Railway Shanhaiguan Bridge Group have signed contracts in connection with the project. The bridge is designed to be able

A new study carried out by the UK’s Transport Research Laboratory (TRL) highlights the increased risks resulting from drivers using smartphones while at the wheel. Previous research shows that using a mobile phone while driving impairs driving performance. But with smartphones now becoming more common, an increasing number of drivers are able to engage in a broad range of activities using their phone while at the wheel. The TRL’s study investigated whether there was an effect of social networking using a sm