News

Highways England has today appointed six joint-venture companies to design and build 10 “smart motorways” as part of a €2.1 billion investment. Construction contractors appointed are the Balfour Beatty and VINCI joint venture, a Costain and Galliford Try joint venture, as well as a Carillion and Kier joint venture. Designers are a CHM2 and Hyder joint venture, an Amey and Arup joint venture, as well as a Jacobs and Atkins joint venture. The award is the second major procurement to be given under th

Innovia Technology, a UK research consultancy, has been chosen to evaluate an environmentally friendly road project in the US state of Georgia. Innovia, based in the city of Cambridge, will evaluate technologies and systems that the Mission Zero Corridor project has identified as useful for creating social, environmental and economic value from new roads. These include algae biodiesel gas stations, smart solar-powered roads, moon-cycle adjusting lights, wildlife bridges, driverless cars and electric-car ch

A Canadian subsidiary of Vinci Concessions, has signed a 30-year public-private partnership (P3) deal for a bypass around the Saskatchewan provincial capital city Regina. Regina Bypass Partners is a (37.5%) subsidiary of Vinci Concessions, in partnership with Parsons Enterprises (25%), Connor Clark & Lunn GVest fund (25%) and Gracorp Capital (12.5%). Parsons Enterprises - the Parsons division focused on the development, delivery, financing, and management of infrastructure under P3s - is an equity par

Mott MacDonald has been appointed by the Road and Motorway Directorate of the Czech Republic to design sections of the R35 and R55 expressways. R35 connects the Bohemia and Moravia regions and runs parallel to the D1 motorway, the longest in the country. Mott MacDonald will design a 5.8km section of the expressway, including three bridges, two interchanges, two roundabouts, four overpasses and one railway viaduct. One watercourse will also be relocated as part of the scheme.

Leighton Holdings and DM Consunji have been chosen by Metro Pacific Investment to develop the Cavite-Laguna Expressway – Calax -- project in the Philippines. Work on the US$757 million is set to start in July next year and run to July 2020. Maintenance and operations on the 47km highway is under a 30-year contract running from 2020. The motorway will start at Cavitex and end at the SLEX-Mamplasan Interchange.

US demand for asphalt is forecast to increase 3.3% annually to 24.3 million tonness in 2019, the vast majority of which is refined petroleum asphalt, according to a new report. Demand will be spurred by a rebound in building construction, especially for asphalt shingles. But in the much larger market of asphalt paving, gains will be supported by the efforts of state and local governments to maintain the nation’s aging road and highway network. Paving accounted for three-quarters of asphalt use in 2014

Saudi Arabia has announced four projects connecting Jeddah and Makkah that will facilitate faster and smoother travel. The Makkah governorate said the projects include the Makkah-Jeddah Direct Roadway, the Breman-Hada Al-Sham-Makkah Road, the Old Makkah-Jeddah Road and the Makkah-Jeddah Highway.

Despite concerns from infrastructure groups, the Mexican government will not to extend the deadline for bids for the design, construction, operation and maintenance of the La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara motorway. Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport said the deadline remains as August 24 for the contract which will be a 30-year public-private partnership estimated to worth around $364 million.

US-based contractor Flatiron has won a US$157 million design and build contract for an interchange in the Canadian city of Winnipeg, in the province of Manitoba. The project, for owner Manitoba Infrastructure and Transportation, will replace the existing loop-ramp interchange for Provincial Trunk Highways 59 and 101. Work includes seven precast girder bridges between 40m and 100 meters in length, one cast-in-place box culvert through-pass, construction of 1.5 million cubic meters of interchange embank

French engineering group Egis has acquired 51% of Projacs, a major project and construction management firm in the Middle East. Egis, based in Guyancourt, north of Paris, made the purchase for an undisclosed sum. The move follows the purchase in Brazil of highways contractor Lenc at the end of last year. Projacs, founded in 1984, is based in the Gulf Cooperation Council countries of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Kuwait, but also operates in neighbouring countries. It

Manitou, a maker of telehandlers, aerial platforms and forklifts, has reported sales for the half year 2015 up 6% to €681 million. The company, based in Ancenis, France, also reported net income of €17 million versus €14 million for the same period last year. Order intake on equipment in second quarter of this year was €252 million versus €248 million in Q2 2014. "The growth regions remained in North America and northern Europe, however with less sustained momentum than last year,” said Michel Deni

The Palfinger Group recorded revenue up by 14.1% to €606.2 million in the first six months of 2015, a new half-year record. Palfinger, a maker of loader cranes, marine cranes, wind cranes and container handling systems, noted that earnings grew more strongly than revenue. Earnings before interest and taxes rose by 29.6% to €53.7 million. The consolidated net result for the first half of 2015 was €34.6 million, 40.6% higher than the previous year's level. "We have been increasingly successful on internatio