Construction and Infrastructure

The World Bank has approved loans totalling $684 million for the Eastern Electricity Highway Project, which will connect Ethiopia’s electrical grid with Kenya’s.

The World Bank financing to both governments—US$243 million for Ethiopia and US$441 million for Kenya—will come from the International Development Association, the Bank’s fund for the world’s poorest countries.

As the first public-private partnership on the island, the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital Redevelopment Project has both challenged traditional concepts of how these schemes are undertaken and faced some unique challenges of its own.

Veolia Water has agreed to sell the UK regulated water activities of Veolia Environnement to Rift Acquisitions for a total of £1.2 billion.

Veolia Water is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Paris-based Veolia Environnement, which is currently working to reduce its net debt.

In 2011, the French company announced plans to divest €5 billion of assets before the end of 2013. This divesture marks the first significant step in that programme, bringing the company’s net debt down by around £1.1 billion as a result of the sale.

Netherlands-based construction company Ballast Nedam has joined forces with Microbeton to form a new joint venture, Concrete Valley, it has been announced.

The new venture, which will focus on specialised solutions in the concrete industry, consists of two companies, Waco Lingen Beton (a Ballast Nedham company) and Microbeton, which develops and manufactures lightweight ferrocement products.

Saudi-owned Al-Muhaidib Contracting Company is focusing on its home market and the provision of large-scale projects to cater for its booming economy and population.

The so-called ‘developed world’ may be facing economic slowdowns and currency turmoil but activity in Saudi Arabia is sufficiently vigorous for Al-Muhaidib Contracting Company to refocus on its home country and reduce the distractions of international exposure.

Canada's building trade unions and the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP) today announced a joint agreement to advance the long-term competitiveness of the oil sands industry, with particular focus on developing a stronger skilled trades workforce.

Mexico’s leading infrastructure and construction firm Empresas ICA (Ingenieros Civiles Asociados) has acquired 51 percent of the Peruvian mining construction firm San Martin.

The decision to acquire a majority stake in San Martin Contratistas Generales, Peru's largest construction services company for the mining industry, is part of ICA’s international strategy to move toward deeper involvement in the dynamic mining sector, said chief operating officer Alonso Quintana.

Ukraine has opened a new terminal at Boryspil International Airport in Kiev that is capable of servicing up to 15 million visitors per year, ahead of next month’s Euro 2012 tournament.

The president of Ukraine Viktor Yanukovych said the completion of the venue was “another small victory” for Ukraine as the country continues to develop its infrastructure in preparation for the influx of visitors.

The total area of terminal D is 107,000 square metres, making it the largest airport terminal in Ukraine.

As part of an on-going upgrade of health services in the area, the Niagara Health System is on the verge of completing a state-of-the-art new hospital for the St Catharines area. Jane McCallion talks to chief planning and development officer Gloria Kain to discover how you turn one million square feet of building into one million square feet of care.

Mike Hollett, chief executive officer of National Lifestyle Villages, tells Andrew Pelis how the company has diversified and grown into a $50 million business since the turn of the century.