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Guangxi Liugong Machinery (LiuGong) has bought a controlling interest in Chinese piling machine specialist Shanghai Jintai Engineering Machinery (Jintai). The US$85.24 million deal has seen LiuGong buying 51% of Jintai from its parent, by Guangxi Liugong Group. LiuGong Group, parent company of LiuGong, has owned a 51% share of Shanghai Jintai Engineering Machinery since the second quarter of 2011. At that time LiuGong Group signed a strategic cooperation agreement with Shanghai Mechanical and Electrical

Recent discussions held in Indonesia’s North Kalimantan province with local officials and counterparts from Brunei, Malaysia and the Philippines have focussed on improving transport connections. The four nations have been agreeing a strategy to develop connectivity for the East ASEAN Growth Area (BIMP-EAGA) that they comprise. A target budget of some US$21.4 billion has been set for developing transport infrastructure, including roads and bridges, ports, airports and rail links. The four nations have agreed

Indonesia’s massive Trans-Papua Highway project looks due for completion in 2019. Stretching for more than 4,330km, the highway project is expected to make a major contribution to Indonesia’s economy, cutting transport costs and boosting trade. Construction commenced in 2013 with the Military's Army Corps of Engineers carrying out much of the land clearance work required.

The contactor building the replacement Champlain Bridge in Canada has hit back over of allegations of poor workmanship in the US$3.3 billion project. The new 3.4km cable-stayed Champlain Bridge over the St Lawrence River will have six lanes vehicle lanes and a separate cycle and pedestrian lane. Design life is 125 years and is being constructed under a public-private partnership and operating contract of 30 years after completion of construction. Work includes construction of a smaller bridge for Île des

The contract has been awarded for a 7.8km sea bridge across the Mumbai Bay in India. A joint venture team comprising Daewoo E&C and Tata Projects will carry out the design and construction for the US$865.2 million Mumbai Trans Harbour Link. The partners will also construct the Shivaji Nagar Interchange located at Navi Mumbai. Once the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link is complete, it will be India’s biggest sea-bridge.

A US$403 million contract for a cable-stayed bridge in the Philippines has been awarded. The design and build deal for the 8.2km bridge will be handled by a joint venture team comprising Acciona Construccion, First Balfour and DM Consunji. The partnership is called the Cebu Link Joint Venture and should complete work on the link, which connects Cebu with Cordova, in 2021. The contract was awarded by the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway, a subsidiary of Metro Pacific Tollways. Included in the contract is the

New strategies in several developed countries are being introduced in strategies to try to reduce the incidences of driving under the influence. The Pan-European police group, Tispol, reports that In the Netherlands, officers will commence road-side saliva tests to catch drug driving offenders. Early results since the programme launched in July have been described as ‘the tip of the iceberg’. Like other countries, the Netherlands already had laws against drug driving, but enforcement was based on

Bridges will be built in Bermuda, following the award of the design contract to a UK team comprising Ramboll, Knight Architects and Eadon Consulting. The deal was awarded by the Government of Bermuda and is for full design services for two replacement highway bridges. The two bridges form key links for Bermuda’s transport infrastructure, connecting L F Wade International Airport with capital city Hamilton to the west and St Georges to the east. Longbird Bridge was originally constructed in the 1950s as a

Construction work for the second stage of the Chusovaya Bridge in Russia is commencing. The contract for the project is being handled by construction firm Stroytransgaz. The new bridge will span the Chusovaya River in Russia’s Perm Region. The contract is worth US$260.3 million and was awarded by a division of the VTB Group, the Perm Concession Company. Financing is being supplied jointly by regional and federal budgets as well as from additional sources.