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India's Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS) has offered to build the 76km, US$1.01 billion Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track road in Nepal under an annuity model, proposing that the government issue a global tender. This model is suitable as investors, including IL&FS and other Indian firms Reliance Infrastructure and Larsen & Toubro, have proved unwilling to undertake the project under a BOOT system. The Kathmandu-Terai Fast Track road will carry an estimated 3,000 vehicles a day.

Indian extraction company SVA Blue Metals is producing millions of tonnes of aggregates/year, using a fleet of Volvo excavators SVA Blue Metals was founded three decades ago by the father of present owner R Ramakrishnan, who handed the business over to his son 15 years ago. The company runs a facility in Karanampettai village close to the bustling industrial city of Coimbatore, around 471km from Chennai, the capital of Tamil Nadu state, and has a license to extract from a portion of the site – with a view

Indonesian infrastructure investment is seeing major highway expansion - Simon Gould writes Over the next 12 years, Indonesia has planned some massive infrastructure investments, under a master plan aimed at bringing it up to developed country status by 2025. Its Government’s Masterplan for Acceleration and Expansion of Indonesia's Economic Development (MP3EI) envisages infrastructure spending of US$400 billion between 2011 and 2025 to help achieve this (see sidebar for more on MP3EI). With limited funds of

Interest is said to be strong for a key highway project in Nepal. The project to build the US$1.02 billion Kathmandu-Tarai Fast Track route has attracted interest from China in the shape of the China Infrastructure Investment Corporation (CIIC) and from India with Reliance Infrastructure, and Shapoorji Pallonji. The 76km highway will commence at Khokana and connect capital Kathmandu with Nijgadh. Should CIIC win the deal it has said it will source funding from China’s Exim Bank. The project has been hit by

IRF’s India Chapter launches major drive to promote the conspicuity of cyclists Road accident deaths in India are among the highest in the world. Cyclists constitute a particularly vulnerable category of road users with more than 6,800 estimated to have lost their lives on the country’s roads in 2011 alone. A large proportion of the fatalities can be attributed to nothing more than the fact that cyclists are not always sufficiently conspicuous to other road users. To address this tragic state of aff

UK firm JCB is opting to move production of its compaction equipment range from its facility in Germany to facilities in India and the UK. Production of the VM compactors and the two larger VM tandem rollers will be moved to the firm’s factory in Pune. Meanwhile production of all walk-behind models and the two smaller VM tandem rollers is relocating to the JCB Attachments factory in Uttoxeter. And production of the 403 Wheeled Loading Shovel will be brought back to the JCB Utility Products factory in Cheadl

Major road expansion is planned for Nepal, but will face huge challenges due to the country’s geography - Mike Woof reports, with local information from World Highways' Nepal correspondent, Ram Krishna Wagle The tiny, landlocked nation of Nepal lies sandwiched between two of the world’s largest countries, China and India and maintains good relations with both. Politically Nepal has strong links with China, while culturally its ties are close with India and these relationships work both ways. Despite bein

New research shows the vital importance of emerging markets to the aggregate production industry, while leading aggregate production equipment manufacturers have brought new cutting-edge models onto the market. Meanwhile, recent equipment purchases are playing a key role in boosting the commercial success of customers in France and Malta. Guy Woodford reports Demand for construction aggregates in the Asia/Pacific and Africa/Middle East regions is fuelling global aggregates sales growth, according to the

Metso CEO and president Matti Kähkönen explained how the company is evolving - Mike Woof reports Finnish crushing and screening specialist Metso is looking to expand its worldwide operations following the recent demerger of the group. CEO and president Matti Kähkönen said that Metso has been a multi-industry business for the last 14 years. The firm’s biggest divisions have been the joint construction and mining division and the pulp and paper business, with its automation sector being the smallest of the

This month: rubber comes to the rescue for cash-strapped UK authorities and Italian towns plagued by road noise; Japanese nanotechnology fights monsoon damage in India; and a new research programme promises to help define whether ‘sustainable’ bitumen technologies really live up to their billing - Kristina Smith writes A new venture in the UK aims to encourage the use of recycled tyres in road pavements. Billian UK is now manufacturing GTR Pellets which combine bitumen, ground tyre rubber (GTR) and miner

During the recent Conexpo event in Las Vegas, Kelly Majeskie, President of The LeeBoy Group, spoke about his expansion plans for the business “We’ve been working on a couple strategies for LeeBoy” said Majeskie, “an overseas growth strategy and a more focused approach to the US market. Like most businesses we saw a major downturn when the US housing market took the big hit in 2008/9.

In 2014 Zoomlion-owned Cifa plans to manufacture a further 15 of its innovative hybrid Energya 8 and 9 plug-in truck mixer prototypes to add to its two existing models. The globally renowned concrete equipment sector firm also aims to sell the first of these new plug-in truck mixer models next year. Among the new machines and equipment resulting from a €2 million-a-year R&D investment in Cifa and Zoomlion products over the last five years, the Energya 8 and 9 models, the latter of which was launched at bau

In 2014 Zoomlion-owned Cifa plans to manufacture a further 15 of its innovative hybrid Energya 8 and 9 plug-in truck mixer prototypes to add to its two existing models. The globally renowned concrete equipment sector firm also aims to sell the first of these new plug-in truck mixer models next year. Among the new machines and equipment resulting from a €2 million-a-year R&D investment in Cifa and Zoomlion products over the last five years, the Energya 8 and 9 models, the latter of which was launched at bau

Troxler has its Hamburg Wheel Tracker on show at Conexpo, a product which it acquired when the company purchased Precision Machine and Welding around 18 months ago. Since then, Troxler has made a few changes. The software has been updated to make it more user-friendly and the manufacturer has adapted the way in which the machine is put together.

Terex president and CEO Ron De Feo was in an upbeat mood at the manufacturer’s Conexpo press conference this week saying “2013 was a year of pretty substantial improvement for our company.” In the second half of last year, Terex saw revenues grow by 6.1% with the figure for the whole year up by 1.5%. The aerial work platform (AWP) and materials handling and port solutions (MHPS) divisions led the improvement in the second half, said De Feo.

JCB is to open a new India production factory complex as part of an ambitious global manufacturing and sales growth strategy. Speaking during JCB’s Conexpo 2014 press conference, JCB ceo Graeme Macdonald said, “We continue to invest for our future. Following the 2012 opening of our US$100 million factory in Brazil, we’re now planning to open later this year JCB’s $100 million factory complex in Jaipur – our fourth in India. It’s actually two factories, covering 700,000 square foot on a 114-acre site. It’s

Caterpillar ceo Doug Oberhelman is cautiously optimistic that recovery in the global equipment market will continue throughout 2014. Speaking at Conexpo, Mr Oberhelman said that the company was in the best possible position to make the most of steadily growing demand, with a host of improved machines and technologies on show. “The North American market is showing the best growth signs in March that we’ve seen for four years,” he said. “This year the market is stronger, housing is better and we see a very

JCB chief executive Graeme Macdonald says the UK manufacturer’s 140% sales rise in North America since 2010 has been a “great comeback story”. “North America has been on a rollercoaster ride,” Macdonald said during JCB’s Conexpo 2014 press conference in Las Vegas this week.

World demand for asphalt will grow by 3.6% annually until 2017, according to Cleveland market research company The Freedonia Group. This follows a decline in demand between 2007 and 2012 in North America and Western Europe, during the global economic crisis. “Gains will be driven by especially strong growth in consumption in China and other developing countries as they work to improve their transportation infrastructures,” said Freedonia analyst Mariel Behnke.

Leighton Asia, India and Offshore has secured a contract worth US$408.14 million to construct the tunnel buildings, systems and fitting out works associated with the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) tunnel in Hong Kong. This is the third project to be awarded to Leighton on the Central - Wanchai Bypass (CWB) project by the HKSAR's Highways Department, following the award of the 2010 contract for the construction of the Central Interchange and the Central Reclamation Phase III in 2009.