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The Indian government has announced an 18% cut in transport sector spending in the 2014/2015 fiscal year. However, the government will allocate a higher proportion of the sector’s budget to complete transport projects in India’s north eastern states. Meanwhile, vehicle producers are giving discounts to boost India sales due to oversupply in the sector.

The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has selected Louis Berger (LB) to serve as safety audit consultant for four national highway construction projects in the eastern state of Bihar. A globally-recognised provider of engineering, development and management support services for public and private clients, LB will perform safety audits during the three-year construction and widening of 366kms of roadway on four national highways. The project team, led by road safety expert Brindabon Samanta, will

The Indian government has signed a pact with Asian Development Bank (ADB) for loans worth US$ 275 million, as part of its nationwide Rural Connectivity Investment Programme. The loan is the second tranche of the $800 million financing facility set aside for the project, and will be used to finance works of constructing 3,693km of rural roads in five Indian states such as West Bengal, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and Assam. Further funds of $81.56 million will be financed by the government, taking t

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) intends to supply financial assistance worth US$154.8 million for 484 new road projects in the state of Odisha, India. The routes will extend for a total of 1,790.4km, targeting 14 districts affected by tropical cyclone Phailin in late 2013 and which suffered flooding. The state had previously requested funding from the central government to improve 3,076,62km of roads.

JCB has forged a partnership with leading global manufacturer Kohler Global Power Group to produce engines for its compact equipment. The water-cooled Kohler Direct Injection (KDI) engines - which will be branded JCB Diesel by Kohler - meet the next stage of emissions regulations without the need for a diesel particulate filter (DPF). The first JCB machine to be fitted with the new engine - a JCB 35D 4x4 Teletruk – was recently unveiled at the RWM waste management show at the NEC in Birmingham, Engla

Preparations are well underway for the SMOPYC 2014 construction equipment show, being held at the Zaragoza Exhibition Center from 1st to 5th April. The main associations in the sector are to attend the show, completing the agenda of parallel activities, including the organization of reverse trade missions from international markets such as the United Arab Emirates, India, Mexico, the Russian Federation, Belarus, Turkey and Iran.

Metso's Indian-manufactured Nordwheeler portable crushing and screening plants are said to be playing an important role in a number of road and other construction infrastructure projects in Asia and Africa. During a short period of time, Metso has sold over 30 portable Nordwheeler plants to Asian and African-based aggregates producers. The plants are manufactured in Metso's factory in Bawal, India – earlier this year reaching the milestone of 1,000 Indian-manufactured portable plants.

Asia’s emerging economies will be building roads for the next two decades, delegates at a recent Argus Asian Bitumen conference in Singapore heard. That means there are big opportunities for suppliers of bitumen, related technology and risk management companies - Kristina Smith reports One of the strongest messages to emerge from the Argus Asian Bitumen conference held in Singapore earlier this year is the sheer volume of road building planned in the region. For many countries there are political and finan

The Conexpo organisers are offering a comprehensive education programme at the exhibition, as well as at its partner IFPE 2014 event. In addition, more than 95 allied associations and groups are official show supporting organisations, while hundreds of industry meetings and conventions will be held at the shows and key countries for industry business are hosting international exhibit pavilions.

A series of major trade routes are being upgraded in Nepal, which are intended to help boost bilateral trade with neighbouring India and China. This will see four key trade routes being upgraded to six lanes. These are the; Butwal-Belhiya, Rani-Ithari, Surybinayak-Dhulikhel and Birgunj-Pathalaiya highway sections. Work is already underway on the Butwal-Belihiya and Rani-Ithari highway sections while work is also being planned for the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel and Birgunj-Pathalaiya highways. Of the 24km stretc

Conexpo and IFPE 2014 are international trade exhibitions that will provide information and support for industry professionals worldwide. According to the organisers, more than 95 allied associations and groups are official show supporting organisations, while hundreds of industry meetings and conventions will be held at the shows and key countries for industry business are hosting international exhibit pavilions. Safety and education/training will be spotlighted with focused industry events in the outdoor

JCB’s John Patterson CBE, who rose through the ranks from field service engineer to Group chief executive, has retired after 43 years’ service. Arjun Mirdha is the new president and CEO of JCB in North America, where Patterson had led operations as chairman and CEO since 2008. After joining JCB in 1971, Patterson went on to work in Canada and America before returning to the UK in 1988 as managing director of JCB Service. In 1993, he was appointed managing director of JCB Sales before becoming Group CEO –

The World Bank has made available US$160 million of credit for the Rajasthan Road Sector Modernisation Project in west India. Scheduled to finish in December 2018, the ambitious project aims to improve rural connectivity, as well as improving road safety and management in Rajasthan state. In recent years Rajasthan, India’s largest state by area and home to more than 68 million people, is said by the World Bank to have made considerable progress with developing its rural roads under the Prime Minister’s Gra

Calls are being made for comprehensive studies into India’s road safety issues. The country has a spiralling rate of deaths and injuries on its road network with a continuing increase in the number of registered vehicles and total distances travelled. Randall Clark, vice-president of Norms and Regulations at tyre manufacturer Michelin, the Indian Government needs to carry out extensive studies in the causes of road accidents in the country. In India, the total figure for vehicle kilometres/year driven is in

The Union Road Transport and Highways Ministry in India has approved the building of 6,418km out of a total of 10,141km of new roads under the Special Accelerated Road Development Project-North East (SARDP-NE) and the Arunachal Pradesh (AP) package of roads and highways. The major ‘Phase A’ SARDP-NE and AP works are due to be completed by March 2017. Phase B of the SARDP-NE and AP programme consists of the construction of the remaining 3,723km of highways. The ministry has approved a comprehensive project

The volume of global transport could double or even quadruple by 2050, according to a new study released by the International Transport Forum (ITF) at the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The ITF study says GDP growth, freight intensity of economic activity and demographic change are important drivers of the predicted huge transport volume growth. But the study titled ITF Transport Outlook 2013 – Funding Transport, a report containing long-running scenarios for global transport

Michelin has partnered with IRF to mark the global launch of the 50th Anniversary edition of the World Road Statistics. The World Road Statistics (WRS) have now been published every year since 1964. To mark this half-century of achievement, IRF has released a commemorative 50th Anniversary edition that compiles 12 years of data to provide a comprehensive statistical review of the evolution of international road and land transport from the dawn of the Millennium to the present day.

The old Pakuria Bridge in Jharkhand, India, ran over a dry riverbed and railway line situated 20km from Calcutta. Now obsolete, the bridge has been brought to the ground in 60 days using Volvo construction equipment West Bengal in eastern India is the nation’s fourth most populous region, boasting more people than the whole of Germany. The state is bordered by Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, and five other states of India with more than 91 million inhabitants spread over 34,267m².

Cambridge Systematics and ICRA Management Consulting Services (IMaCS) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU). This will see the two specialists collaborating for consulting services to the transportation sector in India, across Asia, and in Africa. IMaCS and Cambridge Systematics will offer a broad mix of consulting services to public and private sector clients in the transportation sector. Cambridge Systematics specialises in providing analytical services to support policy development; strategic

The fact that India is, according to the Planning Commission of India, investing US$1 trillion in its infrastructure as part of the current 12-year plan (2012 to 2017), means that next year’s third edition of the bC India international trade fair for construction, building material, and mining machinery and construction vehicles will become an even more vital industry showcase event. The Bauma/Conexpo show takes place from December 15 to 18, 2014 in the India Expo Centre in Greater Noida near Delhi, with t