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Funding sources are being looked at for the important Trans-Sumatra highway in Indonesia. The Indonesian Government has been holding discussions with the Asia Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB). A loan for the construction of the 130km stretch of tolled highway from Pekanbaru to Dumai is being considered. In all this stretch of highway is expected to cost some US$1.24 billion to construct with just under a third being funded by the loan.

In South Korea a contractor has been awarded the deal to construct and important new stretch of highway. The US$263.3 million deal is for a section of the Seoul-Sejong expressway. Hanwha Engineering & Construction (Hanwha E&C) will construct the section of the route in Gyeonggi Province. In all the new route will measure some 129km when complete and will connect Guri in Gyeonggi Province to Sejong. This will be one of several new highways running from north to south in South Korea.

Research reveals that smoother roads can help cut emissions of CO2. This has been announced following the release of the Communication on “A European Strategy for Low-Emission Mobility” (COM (2016) 501) by the European Commission. This covers all transport modes but for road transport, the Communication includes proposals on optimising the transport system, low-emission alternative energy, and low- and zero-emission vehicles. Three associations active in road construction - EUPAVE (the European Concrete

Blue smoke belches from spinning tyres as possibly the world’s fastest street-legal electric vehicle takes off down the track at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. Sports journalist and commentator Jonny Smith pushed his bright orange Flux Capacitor, a reworked electric Enfield 8000 from the 1970s, to a sub-10 second quarter mile - 9.86 seconds to reach 121.73mph. Not bad for a car designed with a top speed of 40mph in mind. The noise in the video is from the petrol-engine car that struggled to keep up.

Blue smoke belches from spinning tyres as possibly the world’s fastest street-legal electric vehicle takes off down the track at Santa Pod Raceway in the UK. Sports journalist and commentator Jonny Smith pushed his bright orange Flux Capacitor, a reworked electric Enfield 8000 from the 1970s, to a sub-10 second quarter mile - 9.86 seconds to reach 121.73mph. Not bad for a car designed with a top speed of 40mph in mind. The noise in the video is from the petrol-engine car that struggled to keep up.

INTERMAT is developing its presence on the international market with its new INTERMAT ASEAN event. The INTERMAT international trade show for construction machinery is working with IMPACT, a Thai trade show organiser, to establish the new INTERMAT show for the whole ASEAN region. The first edition will take place in Bangkok, from 8th to 10th of June 2017. The ASEAN area is one of the world's fastest growing regions and the development of the infrastructure network is essential for the advancement of ASEA

Hitachi Construction Machinery Europe – HCME - has launched Hitachi Premium Used as an intiative to promote its second-hand equipment. Customers get “a used Hitachi model, guaranteeing a high-quality machine with an approved Hitachi warranty”, according to a statement from the HCME. Hitachi Premium Used applies to Hitachi medium and large excavators with less than 5,000 hours or less than five years old, as well as mini excavators with less than 3,500 hours. It also applies to all ZW-series wheel l

JCB reports strong financial performance despite the current tough trading conditions in most of the developing markets around the world. The firm says it has achieved underlying earnings of £214 million during 2015 despite the difficult market conditions and slower than expected growth in North American and European markets. According to JCB’s analysis, the global market for construction equipment dropped by 14% during 2015 overall. Market conditions in the first half of 2016 remain fragile with the except

Plans are being made for a new bridge to connect Clarinda in Argentina with Puerto Falcon in Paraguay. The bridge will span the Pilcomayo River, the longest tributary of the Paraguay River and it will connect Highway 11 in Argentina with Highway 12 in Paraguay, close to its capital, Asuncion. The new bridge is needed as the current structure is over 50 years old and is becoming unable to cope adequately with traffic demands. Both countries will fund the construction of the new bridge, which will help to dev

Serbian vice president Zorana Mihajlovic has held talks with Li Manchang, China's Ambassador to Serbia in Serbia, for continuation of works on Belgrade’s ring road. According to the political magazine B92, Mihajlovic also signed a memorandum of understanding with Azvirt, the company from Azerbaijan, and China's Sinohidro. Discussions included continuation of work on the Surcin-Obrenovac part of the Corridor 11 motorway. A commercial deal for the project has already been signed with the China Communica

India is busy with plans to expand its highway network. The work is being managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and up to 97 different highway projects are envisaged in the complete programme. Some US$16 billion worth of projects could be awarded in the 2016-2017 period if all the planned projects move ahead as anticipated. These would deliver an additional 6,631km of highways in total. At present there are 250 highway construction projects underway in India, while 400 have already been

Norway’s twisting and sea-battered Atlantic Ocean Road is the “Ultimate Summer Drive”, with Portugal’s Estoril Ocean Drive close behind, research has found. In third place was Lake Como, Italy, followed in fourth place by the Peloponnesus in Greece. Fifth ultimate summer drive was a Scottish Highland drive The North Coast 500, as pictured below. The 8.3km Atlantic Ocean Road was judged to be best according to a statistical formula developed for Tom Tom. The road has a blend of spectacular views, quali