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The first bC India event has exceeded all expectations and it is set to become a regular event. Patrick Smith reports A major new construction equipment show has been launched in a nation with a huge appetite for such machinery and a growth rate nudging 9% each year. With billions being spent on infrastructure (roads and highways, power stations, railways, ports and airports), India was a prime candidate for a trade fair to display the latest and local international construction machinery, building materia

A budget of US$304 million will be used for road maintenance and repairs in Puerto Rico during 2011.

The highway authorities in Australia have committed to investing in road infrastructure in Northern Territory, Queensland and South Australia.

There are key differences in crash cushion design and quality for the United States and European markets. Developments in barrier technologies have followed the varying demands of specific markets, resulting in manufacturers offering different solutions for US and European needs.

Funding for a 3km cable-stayed bridge in Vietnam's Mekong Delta region will be boosted with financial backing from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Korea Eximbank).

Stabilisers bring recycling improvements to roads in the UK and Armenia. The local road authorities near the UK city of Bath have saved nearly €250,500 on the cost of repairing a 400m long section of the B3110 Midford Road. This saving has been achieved by opting to recycle and strengthen in-situ the existing surface, instead of using conventional full depth pavement reconstruction.

GAZ Group, part of Oleg Deripaska's Basic Element, and Terex Corporation have entered into an agreement to form a joint venture company to manufacture of construction and roadbuilding equipment in Russia.

Marini has been involved for some years in supplying asphalt plants to Indian companies involved in road and airport construction programmes.

Plans are being set out for a new bridge to link Thailand with Laos. Work on the fourth Thailand-Lao bridge will commence this month.

Buenos Aires Province will release news of the winner of a highway concession shortly. The concession will be to operate highways 2, 11, 36, 63, 56 and 74 under a 30 year deal from May 2011.

The Japanese Government is planning to make several expressway sections toll-free. This forms part of a pilot programme, with six sections of the country's expressway network intended to be made toll-free for all vehicles.

Bidding is strong for the 30 year concession deal covering the Goethals Bridge linking New York and New Jersey. The contract will include financing, construction and management of the bridge and changes to the road alignment in a deal worth US$1.3 billion.

North Korea claims that it is establishing a strategic plan that will lift the country's struggling economy into prosperity as early as 2012. According to a missive from the Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), a 10 year economic plan has been unveiled that will see a total of US$100 billion being invested by the nation in 12 strategic sectors.

A new US$816 million highway extension project for Israel has been given the go ahead by the country's government.

The high sophistication of GPS machine control systems has resulted in a fast pace of technological advancement. The three major players in the machine control sector, Leica Geosystems, Topcon and Trimble have all made major gains in recent years. The sophistication of the latest systems can combine satellite position data from the GPS and GLONASS networks with information from total stations to provide precise, high speed machine operation. Further more the firms have also prepared themselves for the intro

A new 192km road link will connect Juba with Nimule in Southern Sudan. This US$225 million project is being funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).

Organisers of the International Show of Public Works, Construction and Mining Machinery have made every effort to assist the sector on the road to recovery

The Honduras Government is revealing its concern over rising costs of materials, as these will have a major impact on planned road maintenance and repairs, as well as new construction.

The West African nation of Benin is seeing two road projects commence shortly. Funding for the work is being provided by China.

Plans are now moving forward for the construction of a 3.2km bridge in Australia's New South Wales.