News

Kobelco Construction Machinery is planning to build a new excavator factory in the US. The facility will be located in South Carolina and will become part of the existing US subsidiary, Kobelco Construction Machinery USA (KCMU). With the new facility, the firm’s operations in the US will be reorganised to include production as well as sales. The factory will be built on a 340,000m2 site close to Spartanburg, with production initially focussing on the 20tonne excavator segment and aiming for a capacity of so

Demand for electric vehicles as well as hybrid vehicles looks set to grow in China. The Chinese Government is looking to reduce pollution in major cities, with exhaust emissions known to be a major cause of the problem and electric vehicles in particular being regarded as one of a series of solutions to the issue. However, the Chinese Government now looks set to reduce the subsidies that have been in place to tempt buyers to select electric vehicles or plug-in hybrids, instead of conventional internal com

The latest official data from Japan’s National Police Agency reveals a continued drop in traffic fatalities for 2014. The fatality rate fell to 4,113 in 2014, a drop of 260 from the previous year. This improvement in road safety has been helped by a successful campaign to increase awareness over the use of seatbelts and also on the inherent risks of drink-driving, according to the authorities. Of the fatalities, 227 cases were as a result of drink-driving. A total of 2,193 people aged above 65 years old die

The German Ministry for transport, energy and digital communication, is planning to introduce a series of new public private partnerships for large road projects. These projects are intended to cut congestion and prevent traffic jams on Germany’s roads, which can be blocked at peak periods and particularly during times of vacation. If an additional traffic lane can be made available quickly and sustainably, this will be considered a bonus. Technical or temporary impairments in quality will result in less co

The Danish government said it will create a large port area east of the small town of Rødbyhavn to facilitate construction of the future Fehmarn Belt tunnel link. The US$7.5 billion project is an 18km tunnel including two railway tunnels, two motorway tunnels and an emergency tunnel. Construction start is scheduled for later this year and should take between six and seven years. The tunnel is part of the major infrastructure project called the Fehmarn Belt Fixed Link to connect the German island of Fe

Columbia’s National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) will help finance construction of the Toyo tunnel in Antioquia. The tunnel, nearly 10km-long and costing almost US$760, will be part of a new 39km road between Santa Fe de Antioquia and Canasgordas. The central government will contribute $216 million towards the project, the regional government of Antioquia will contribute $337 million and the Medellin government will pitch in with $212 million.

Millions of pounds worth of JCB machines are in danger of being lost aboard a stricken cargo ship that has been listing in The Solent river on England’s south coast. A spokesperson for JCB in the United Kingdom said 105 JCB machines are on board the Hoegh Osaka that has been grounded in The Solent. Machines include 50-tonne and 33-tonne JCB tracked excavators, backhoe loaders, Loadall telescopic handlers, wheeled loading shovels and Teletruk forklifts. All the machines are made at JCB's factories in Staf

Continued road safety improvements are being seen in Australia, following the implementation of a series of strategic moves. In New South Wales, the latest official data shows that road fatalities for 2014 were the lowest since 1923 and down some 40% compared with 10 years ago. Some cause for concern however has been seen with the 45% increase in deaths caused by the non-use of seat belts. There were 309 road deaths in New South Wales in 2014, compared with 333 in 2013. Across the other side of the count

Provisional data from Spain shows a continuing drop in fatal road crashes during 2014. Of note is the fact that the country has already achieved the 2020 target of reducing the death rate to 36/1,000,000 inhabitants. The drop in the death rate was slight, just 2%, but still of importance. The provisional data shows that there were 1,131 fatalities and 4,874 people seriously injured in 2014. And this last is of note as the number of people seriously injured in crashes dropped 8% during 2014 compared with the

A series of major works is planned for Mexico City in 2015. The Mexican capital will benefit from a series of transportation project intended to deal with the city’s chronic congestion and pollution issues, as well as to improve international access. A second 13.3km long level will be added to the Mexico-Puebla highway and this is due for completion in July 2016. A second 7.7km level will also be added to the highway to Cuernavaca and this is due for completion in 2018. Construction will begin on a new airp

Rwanda looks set to commence work on a major road revamp project. The project is for the construction of the 51km Base-Gicumbi-Rukomo road. Financing for the project is coming in the shape of a loan worth some US$74.7 million from the African Development Bank (AfDB). The Rwandan Government will also provide another $4.6 million for the road project later. The project is part of Base-Nyagatare road project that will connect the Northern and the Eastern provinces, with work likely to start in April 2015. The