News

Japan has agreed in principle to provide financial assistance to Thailand for road construction and upgrades in connection with the East-West Economic Corridor. The corridor is based on 1,450km of highway running across four Southeast Asian countries. The idea of investing in the corridor was originally proposed during a multi-national ministerial conference in Manila, Philippines, in 1998. Much of the route had been completed by 2010, according to review document by Asian Development Bank. It also noted t

Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha government lays out 12-year road plan Spain’s regional government of Castilla-La Mancha will spend around US$282 million on new road infrastructure as part of a major 12-year highways strategy. Castilla-La Mancha approved the Third Regional Roads Plan this month which envisaged spending upwards of $1.6 billion in the 12 years. The plan will be reviewed every four years. The landlocked autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha lies mostly southeast of Madrid and includes

Rugged mobile computing specialist Mobexx has introduced a slimline 10-inch MIL-STD-810G, IP-65 tested Windows 8.1 Professional tablet PC. The 1kg Xplore Bobcat has front and back facing cameras and is powered by an energy-efficient 1.9 GHz quad-core processor, an Intel Bay Trail E3845. It has a backlit IPS LCD screen and is ATEX/IECEx Zone 2/22 certified. The Xplore Bobcat is for use explosive atmospheres and hazardous environments such as found in oil, gas and petrochemical production, mining, paint an

Data from Vietnam’s National Traffic Safety Committee reveals that 7,475 people were killed in traffic crashes between January and October 2014. The figures show that an average of 25 people have died in traffic accidents/day in Vietnam so far during 2014. The data also reveals that there have been 20,801 traffic crashes in this period, injuring a total of 19,937 people, which is a drop compared to 2013. The country has a population of some 90 million according to the most recent estimates, putting the scal

Brazil is benefiting from a boost in its road safety levels. Official data shows that vehicle crashes accounted for 40,500 fatalities in 2013, a decrease of 10% from the previous year. The figures show that this is the biggest drop in road fatalities since 1998, when the death rate was reduced by 13%. The road safety gain has been achieved largely by much tougher enforcement of existing rules banning drink driving and speeding. Brazil’s road safety levels are not good, with an average of 20 fatalities/100,0

Work is now being carried out on three major road projects in Qatar. The work is worth over US$2.58 billion in all. One project is for an upgrade to the North Road corridor. This will add dedicated cycle tracks and pedestrian bridges and another lane to the main carriageway between Al Khartiyat and Duhail. The work is due for completion in the last quarter of 2016. Another project is for the $980 million Lusail Expressway, which is 5.3km long and due for completion on 2017. The third is for the 9.9km long D

Software solutions providers Bentley and Trimble will collaborate to develop construction modeling products for asset performance that can be used by clients after handover of a project. The announcement was made simultaneously at their separate conferences -- the Bentley Year in Infrastructure 2014 event in London, UK, and Trimble Dimensions 2014 in Las Vegas. Construction modeling includes modeling of temporary works, intelligent positioning, splitting and sequencing, detailing for fabrication, work

Wacker Neuson Group reported a significant rise in revenue and profit for the third quarter of 2014 with especially high performance in the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Sales of light and compact equipment were driven primarily by an upturn in business in North America where the Munich-based group is planning its first production line for compact equipment. All regions contributed to revenue growth in the third quarter of 2014. Europe reported a 14% increase while the Americas and Asia-Pacific both saw reve

Volvo CE has announced it is moving production of its backhoe loaders and motor graders to its Chinese SDLG operation. The move is being made as part of a larger reorganisation, intended to boost overall profitability. Cost-saving measures are being implemented by Volvo CE to address the profitability of certain products. And the firm is opting to discontinue product development and production of backhoe loaders and motor graders in Europe and Americas and transfer these operations to its Chinese company

Book now … the first Pavement Preservation &-Recycling (World) Summit (PPRS 2015), due to take place in the Palais des Congrès in Paris from February 22 2015 to February 25 2015, has extended its deadline for early bird registration November 15 2014.

Book now … the first Pavement Preservation &-Recycling (World) Summit (PPRS 2015), due to take place in the Palais des Congrès in Paris from February 22 2015 to February 25 2015, has extended its deadline for early bird registration November 15 2014.