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A new move between Palfinger and SANY will see the two firms further developing their strategic partnership. The agreement has been made in principle to expand the strategic partnership between the Austrian and Chinese companies. The firms now intend to buy a 10% stake in each other. The link between the two groups will likely be reflected in the supervisory boards of both organisations. Now that an agreement in principle has been reached, the final contracts will be drafted in the weeks to come. The implem

EU funding will help with construction of Uganda’s Mbarara Bypass and upgrades to the Kampala Northern Bypass. The US$151 million in financing will help improve the country’s transportation. This move should help trade between Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi to the Mombasa seaport in Kenya.

The Mozambique government will build a road to link between the country and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. According to Cadmiel Muthemba, the Housing and Public Works Minister, works on the US$400 million project are due to commence from February 2014, with funds for the project provided by a loan extended by Exim Bank of China.

Spanish researchers believe they have found a new way of measuring road-side air quality with an infrared camera system that can remotely measure vehicle emissions by scanning the unique infrared signatures of various pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and so on.

America’s federal highway trust fund faces running out of money in 2015: a move that will have a “devastating impact” on states that rely heavily on federal funds for their road maintenance and construction needs, transportation officials warned the US Congress this week. Highway contractors, state transportation officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce all went to Washington this week to lobby Congress, arguing for a rise in the rate of federal gasoline tax to help boost the coffers.

The French government is considering establishing a toll plaza to fund the €1.2 billion expansion to three lanes of the A31 motorway from Nancy, France to Luxembourg. The toll plaza, or 'péage', would be located somewhere on the busy A31 stretch between Thionville, France, and Luxembourg. Some 100,000 cars travel between Thionville and Luxembourg each day. The stretch has become a popular alternative route for motorists travelling between Germany and the Mediterranean.

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) (HCME) has completed the €10 million restructure of its manufacturing sites at Oosterhout in the south of The Netherlands. The Application Centre (AC) and Zaxis mini excavator factories have merged into one operation, which, according to HCME, will have far-reaching benefits for the firm. “At first glance, there is no similarity between Hitachi mini excavators and special application machines,” said Tonny Engels, general manager at the Oosterhout factory. “Howev