Hinkley Point C New Nuclear
New reactor designs get interim approval
Officials have today granted interim design approval for two nuclear reactor designs due to built in the UK marking key milestone the new nuclear build programme.
Kier and Bam confirmed for Hinkley Point C earthworks contract
EdF Energy today confirmed that a joint venture involving contractors Bam and Kier is preferred bidder for the £100M-plus contract for site preparation works at the proposed new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C in Somerset.
Government finalises new nuclear waste framework
The Department for Energy and Climate Change has today set out statutory guidance for nuclear operators for establishing their funding for decommissioning plans.
Lack of skills could hamper new nuclear build
A shortfall in specialist steel reinforcement fixers, concreters and scaffolders could hamper the nuclear new build programme according to a report from industry-body CITB-ConstructionSkills released today.
Infrastructure Planning Commission accepts Hinkley Point planning application
The Infrastructure Planning Commission (IPC) today accepted for examination energy firm EdF Energy’s planning application for its proposed nuclear power station at Hinkley Point in Somerset.
Hinkley Point C energy generation date not expected until end of 2012
Energy firm EdF Energy has said it will not give a date on when electricity will be generating from new nuclear power station Hinkley Point C until after the firm has made its final investment decision at the end of next year.
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Hinkley Point C main civils contract will not be awarded before 2013
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Infrastructure Planning Commission receives Hinkley Point application
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Infrastructure Show: Hinkley Point planning application set to stretch IPC resources
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Nuclear firms given 12 month deadline for post-Fukushima recommendations
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Weightman review piles pressure on Sellafield to deal with nuclear waste
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Weightman gives go-ahead for new nuclear
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EdF says judicial review will not delay Hinkley
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Rolls-Royce expands nuclear capabilities
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EdF's Hinkley Point C plans move forward
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Hinkley Point council appoints technical advisors
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Parliament approves energy planning reforms
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Nuclear reactor designs reach key milestone
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Government confirms nuclear sites
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Kier targets civils work and plans to recruit more engineers
USA high speed rail
US rail operator to make high speed rail plans private finance friendly
US rail operator Amtrak has said it is to update its vision for high speed rail in the north east with a business plan that identifies potential public and private funding sources.
US announces £450M for Northeast Corridor high speed rail
US transportation secretary Ray LaHood yesterday announced nearly $745M (£451M) for construction along the Northeast Corridor (NEC) to upgrade some of the most heavily-used sections.
California high speed rail makes progress
California has managed to secure extra funding for its planned high speed rail route and has begun drafting environmental impact assessments for the route.
Illinois launches high speed rail study
Illinois state governor Pat Quinn has launched a feasibility study into a 350km/h high speed rail line between Chicago, Urbana-Champaign and further afield.
US politicians push for private finance to fund high speed rail plans
American politicians last week said private finance must be used to deliver high speed rail lines between Boston, New York and Washington.
High speed rail plans revealed in US
Transport chiefs in the US have announced more than 20 new rail projects following the cancellation of a $2bn (£1.22bn) Florida line.
Crossrail news
Crossrail concrete batching plant up and running in west London
A tunnelling construction plant producing concrete segments for 26 miles of Crossrail tunnels has officially opened in west London.
London 2012 Olympic Park news
Government announces major projects skills academy to save costs
A skills academy to improve the building and consultancy expertise of civil servants working on major tax-payer projects has been launched by the Cabinet office today.
Thameslink Programme
Farringdon reopens station entrance
London mayor Boris Johnson reopened Farringdon station’s London Underground entrance in the City of London yesterday following an eight week closure to restore and expand the grade II listed building.
Forth Replacement Crossing
Forth Road Bridge maintenance to be privatised
Scottish transport minister Keith Brown is to invite private sector firms to maintain and operate the new Forth crossing and existing Forth Road Bridge.
Masdar
Total-Abengoa Solar consortium appointed for Masdar project
Masdar, Abu Dhabi’s multi-faceted initiative advancing the development, commercialisation and deployment of renewable and alternative energy technologies and solutions, has appointed the bidding consortium of Total and Abengoa Solar as a partner to own, build and operate Shams 1, the world’s largest concentrated solar power plant and the first of its kind in the Middle East.
London Tideway Tunnels
Water experts vote in favour of Thames Tunnel super sewer
Water experts from across London last week rejected suggestions that controlling rainwater near source is a better way of controlling sewage discharges into the River Thames than Thames Water’s £4.1bn Thames Tunnel.
Gautrain
Fehmarnbelt Crossing
Bored tunnel resurrected as Fehmarnbelt crossing option
Promoter Femern has decided to resurrect the possibility of a bored tunnel for its Fehmarnbelt road and rail crossing between Denmark and Germany following a public consultation.
Flamanville 3
Ministers set country’s infrastructure priorities
Ministers this week approved 10 sites as locations for the UK’s next generation of nuclear power stations.
M25 widening
M1 bridge repairs to cost £5M, says transport minister
Permanent repairs to a fire-damaged bridge on the M1 in north London will cost consortium Connect Plus £5M, transport minister Mike Penning revealed today.
High Speed 2
Government announces major projects skills academy to save costs
A skills academy to improve the building and consultancy expertise of civil servants working on major tax-payer projects has been launched by the Cabinet office today.
Severn Barrage
Hendry cool on new plans for Severn Barrage energy scheme
Energy minister Charles Hendry this week said he was unconvinced by private plans to develop the Severn Barrage scheme.
Arabian Canal
Arabian Canal excavations on hold
The future of Dubai’s 75km-long Arabian Canal mega-project was under threat this week after the client suspended the next stage of the procurement process for excavation work.
Boris Island
Doubts arise about ambitious Thames Hub delivery schedule
Transport experts this week refuted suggestions that a new Thames Estuary airport could be delivered in a decade or less.
Heathrow Rail Hub
Wandsworth reveals Waterloo-Heathrow direct rail plans
Wandsworth Council has today unveiled plans for a new direct rail service from south London to Heathrow airport.
East London Line Extension
Hackney and Enfield infrastructure unharmed by riots
The London boroughs of Hackney and Enfield have reported transport and infrastructure has been mostly unaffected by recent riots.
London Gateway Port
London Gateway port to open by end of 2013
The new global port London Gateway will open in the fourth quarter of 2013 with an initial capacity of 1.6M twenty foot equivalent container units (TEU), port operator DP World announced yesterday.
Greater Manchester Waste PFI
Manchester's 42 new waste facilities near completion
Contractor Costain’s £397M project to design and construct a network of state-of-the-art recycling and waste management facilities across Greater Manchester is nearing completion this week with 37 of the 42 facilities completed.
The Shard
Shard crane claims UK’s tallest title
London’s Shard is set to take the title as Western Europe’s tallest building, but a crane brought onto site by main contractor Mace has already claimed the position of the UK’s tallest crane.
World Trade Center
WTC ten years on: World Trade Center Memorial opens today
The World Trade Center Memorial featuring two giant reflecting pools built within the footprints of the original Twin Towers opens to the public today.
Second Avenue Subway
Second Avenue Subway first phase tunnelling to begin this month
S3 Tunnel Constructors, a Skanska USA Civil/JF Shea Constructors/Schiavone Construction joint venture (JV), will start tunnelling as part of the $3.8bn (£2.5bn) Phase 1 of Second Avenue Subway in Manhattan this month.
Hindhead tunnel
Hindhead Tunnel officially opens
The £371M A3 Hindhead Tunnel was opened by transport secretary Philip Hammond today - which will reduce journey times between London and Portsmouth.
Burj Khalifa
Burj Khalifa observation platform reopens
Tourists are once again flocking to the world’s tallest skyscraper to sample the view from the observation deck of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, after a lift failure closed the platform earlier in the year.
Sellafield Decommissioing
Dounreay sets out options for 'exotics' nuclear material
Spent nuclear fuel from Dounreay’s fast reactor breeders could be transported to Sellafield in Cumbria for treatment, according to plans outlined by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority (NDA) this week.
London Array
London Array construction on track
Construction of the new 1GW offshore wind farm in the Thames Estuary was on track this week with its two offshore electrical substations now in place.
Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Link
Major tunnelling contracts awarded for Hong Kong Guangzhou-Shenzhen line
MTR has recently awarded two major tunnelling contracts for the Hong Kong Guangzhou-Shenzhen high speed line.
California high speed rail
California high speed rail makes progress
California has managed to secure extra funding for its planned high speed rail route and has begun drafting environmental impact assessments for the route.
Panama Canal Expansion Project
Mega $3.5bn Panama Canal expansion deal won by Italian-led consortium
The Panama Canal Authority (ACP) has determined that a consortium led by Italian firm Impreglio offers the “best value” proposal for the $3.5bn locks expansion contract.
Sydney Metro
New South Wales axes £3bn Sydney metro project
Australia’s New South Wales government this week faced industry anger and hefty compensation costs after cancelling the A$5bn (£2.9bn) Sydney Metro project on Sunday.
London Underground PPP
Northern Line Extension cost grows to £900M as developer funding threatened
The proposed Northern Line Extension in south London to serve Nine Elms and Battersea is likely to cost between £800M to £900M, it was revealed yesterday.
Tottenham Court Road Redevelopment
Crossrail work starts at Tottenham Court Road
Bus diversions around Tottenham Court Road start this weekend as £1bn Tube and Crossrail station development gets underway
Delhi Metro
Delhi Metro corridor to open next week
The Qutub Minar – HUDA city centre Delhi Metro corridor will open next week, with the first train services commencing simultaneously from Qutub Minar and HUDA City Centre in Gurgaon at 8am on Monday.
Managed Motorways
Highways Agency seeks low cost gantries
The Highways Agency is looking to award up to 12 firms a place on its £70M framework to supply and erect gantries for its Managed Motorways programme.
Birmingham Roads PFI
Riots halt some work on Birmingham highways
Contractor Amey has temporarily halted work on some of its projects on Birmingham City Council’s highways private finance initiative (PFI).
Brisbane Airport Link
Hochtief suffers massive £300M interim pre-tax loss
Contractor Hochtief has suffered a massive pre-tax loss of €350.3M (£305.5M) in the first six months of 2011 against a pre-tax profit of £345.5M for the same period last year, according to figures released yesterday.
Heathrow East
Aecom appoints BAA chief Robinson
Consultant Aecom has appointed Richard Robinson as managing director of its transportation business in Europe to be based in the company’s London office, it announced last week.
St Petersburg flood barrier
Steel flood gates for St Petersburg barrier
The two huge 3,000t steel gates across the main 900m wide navigation section of the St Petersburg flood barrier were successfully floated out of their dry docks and sunk as part of the test programme for the Russian city’s 25.4km long defence this week.
Venice Moses flood barrier
EIB provides £433M to Venice barrier scheme
The European Investment Bank (EIB) has today provided €480M (£433M) to help finance the massive Venice flood defence scheme.
Messina Bridge
December start for Messina bridge
Work on a long-envisioned and bitterly contested bridge connecting Sicily to mainland Italy will begin in December, the infrastructure minister said Thursday.
Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge
Hong Kong - Macau Bridge design team announced
Arup, in joint venture with Highway & Planning Design Institute (Beijing), COWI, First Harbour and Shanghai Tunnel have been appointed to carry out the preliminary design of the main section of the Hong Kong – Zhuhai – Macau Bridge: a 38km fixed crossing in the South China Sea, linking the three cities.
Incheon Bridge
Amec fined £5M following ‘irregular payments’ on Incheon Bridge job
Amec this week agreed to pay almost £5M to the Serious Fraud Office (SFO) after the contractor was discovered to have recieved “irregular payments” during the construction of South Korea’s massive Incheon Bridge.
Victoria Desalination Project
Hochtief suffers massive £300M interim pre-tax loss
Contractor Hochtief has suffered a massive pre-tax loss of €350.3M (£305.5M) in the first six months of 2011 against a pre-tax profit of £345.5M for the same period last year, according to figures released yesterday.
Round 3 Wind Farm Zones
Bids now in to host Green Investment Bank
Competition to host the Green Investment Bank is fierce with 32 sites applying says business secretary Vince Cable who will reveal the successful bidder next month.
Heron Tower
Heron to build 43-storey skyscraper
London planning chiefs have given the green light to a new 150m skyscraper by Heron International that will complement one of the city’s existing high-rise landmarks.
Mersey Gateway
Bidding opens for £510M Mersey Gateway project
Firms are being invited to pre-qualify for the £510M Mersey Gateway project to design, build and operate the new toll bridge across the River Mersey between Runcorn and Widnes and refurbish the existing Silver Jubilee crossing.
Nord Stream
Research shows increase in project finance
NCE sister title Infrastructure Journal’s 2010 league tables has revealed the extent of the bounce-back in project finance in 2010 – with banklending up 37.5 per cent on 2009 across all sectors.
