Royal Boskalis Westminster has secured a €120M contract for the expansion of the Porto do Açu Oil Transhipment Terminal in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
China Horse Club affiliate DSH Caribbean Star has signed an agreement with the government of Saint Lucia to develop a $2.6bn resort and lifestyle complex on the island.The project, named The ‘Pearl of the Caribbean’, will be located on a 700-acre site.It will include a marina, racecourse, resort and shopping mall complex, casino, Free Trade Zone, extensive entertainment and leisure facilities, eco-tourism as well as architecturally-designed villas and apartments.China Horse Club believes that the project is expected to play a lead role in the development of a new horse industry in Saint Lucia. The development, when completed, will accommodate more than 1,000 racehorses and have the capacity to hold racing carnivals.Construction on the development’s initial phase is set to begin in 2017 and create between 500-800 construction jobs.
A consortium led by Eiffage Génie Civil has been awarded a €200M contract by the French government space agency (CNES) for the construction of Ariane 6 ELA 4 launch complex in Guiana.The Ariane 6 programme, approved by European Space Agency (ESA) in 2014, aims to minimise the cost of space launch by half compared to Ariane 5.CNES was handed the responsibility to develop the programme’s ground facilities at the Guiana Space Centre and in February issued an European tender invitation for the construction of the ELA 4 infrastructure, which has now been awarded to Eclair6 consortium.The consortium will be responsible for the construction of all ELA 4 structures, including the launch pad and its two flame trenches, the 6,000t, 90m-high mobile service gantry and the BAL launcher assembly building. The project will require 7,000t of reinforcement, 400,000cb m of earth and 7,500t of structural steel.Construction is set to start immediately and is scheduled to be complete in October 2018, with the first Ariane 6 launch scheduled for late 2020.
MUNA Consortium featuring Aldesa Construcciones and OHL Construcción has secured a contract from The Ministry of Culture of Peru to build an €100M National Archaeology Museum in Peru.The museum will be located at the archaeological area of Pachacámac, in the Lurín district.The 75,000sq m building will accommodate 500,000 pre-Colombian archaeological pieces. It will also have a new Children's Museum, a 450-seat auditorium and conference room, in addition to areas intended for restaurants, services and car parks.Construction work will take approximately two years. Once completed, the National Archaeology Museum will be the biggest in the country and one of the most important in Latin America.
A consortium led by Astaldi has won a €400M contract from the European Southern Observatory (ESO) for the construction of the dome and telescope structure of the European Extremely Large Telescope (E-ELT) in northern Chile. The consortium, known as the ACe Consortium, also includes Cimolai and the nominated sub-contractor EIE Group.The E-ELT, touted to be the largest optical/near-infrared telescope in the world, will feature a main mirror measuring 39m in diameter. The project is being built in Cerro Armazones, a 3,000m peak about 20km from ESO’s Paranal Observatory. The scope of the contract includes the design, manufacture, transport, construction, on-site assembly and verification of the dome and telescope structure. Astaldi’s chairman Paolo Astaldi said: “This project is truly visionary, both in what it represents for the field of astronomy and for construction and engineering.“Astaldi and our project partners, Cimolai and EIE Group, are extremely proud to have been selected by ESO through their call for tender to help make their vision a reality.“Astaldi is renowned for delivering its best-in-class technical skills, quality construction and strong execution, and we will put the full force of our core strengths behind this project. It is with great excitement that I sign a contract of such astronomical ambition.”
AGC Asahi Glass (AGC), a manufacturer of glass, chemicals and high-tech materials, has unveiled plans to invest around JPY18bn ($158.1m) in its consolidated subsidiary, AGC Glass Brazil, to build a second float glass production plant in Brazil’s southeast region. The new facility is expected to boost AGC’s glass production capacity in the country to 2.4 times the existing capacity. Work on the plant is anticipated to be completed by the end of 2018.The company said in a statement: “With a relatively young population of approximately 200m people and abundant natural resources, Brazil is expected to maintain its economic growth from a medium and long-term perspective. The demand for architectural glass and automotive glass is also projected to grow. “In such a business environment, AGC will enhance its production capacity in Brazil to 530,000 tonnes per year, up 310,000 tonnes from the current 220,000 tonnes a year.” AGC Glass Brazil was set up in 2011 and became operational in 2013. The company manufactures and supplies float glass for architectural and automotive uses, mirrors, fabricated glass products for architectural use, as well as laminated/tempered automotive glass.