Empire Industries’ subsidiary Dynamic Attractions has signed an agreement with Altair (Shanghai) Space Technology to design, develop, co-own and operate a CAD600M ($465M) theme park in Hangzhou, China.The theme park — named Space Park — will be developed on a site, which is currently owned by the Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist Resort, a government-owned organisation. Altair has signed a separate investment framework agreement with the Hangzhou Zhijiang National Tourist Resort to acquire the site — 19.3ha of land — by the end of 2016.Empire Industries’ executive chairman and CEO Guy Nelson said: “Dynamic Attractions has over two decades of experience delivering some of the most popular rides for the world’s top theme parks, thus providing the solid foundation for Space Park to succeed.“The appetite for world-class attractions by the rapidly growing middle class in China, will be uniquely delivered by Space Park with a distinct themed environment and entertainment attraction offering.”Space Park is expected to open in late 2020.
Wanda Group has announced plans to invest RMB63bn ($9.4bn) to build the new Jinan Wanda Culture, Sports and Tourism City in Jinan, China.The 290ha Jinan Wanda City will be Wanda’s 13th culture and tourism project in the country. The project will include a mall, an outdoor theme park, an ice hockey-basketball stadium, a hotel cluster, and a bar street.The ice hockey-basketball stadium, with a seat capacity of 10,000, will serve as a basketball and ice hockey court. It will have the capacity to host key international sporting events and will serve professional clubs.The 42ha outdoor theme park will feature entertainment facilities equipped with advanced technology.The development will also house three resort hotels — one six-star and two five-star hotels. The project is expected to break ground in 2017, commence operation in 2021 and create 20,000 jobs in the region.
India-based firm KEC International has secured new energy plant contracts worth INR12.24bn ($182.7M) in India, Thailand and Bangladesh.The company’s transmission and distribution business has secured domestic orders worth INR5.89bn ($88M) from Karnataka Power Transmission Corporation under the Indian government’s ‘Green Energy Corridors’ initiative. It includes the supply and construction of a 400/220kV GIS & AIS substation and a 400kV transmission line at Jagalur, Karnataka, and a 400/220kV Substation and 66kV transmission Line at Gadag, Karnataka.KEC’s transmission business has also secured international contracts worth INR2.16bn ($32.2M). A turnkey order of INR1.73bn ($25.8M) was awarded by the Electricity Generating Authority of Thailand for the construction of a 500kV transmission line on the Thai/Laos border, while an INR430M ($6.4M) contract was awarded by the Power Grid Company of Bangladesh for the construction of 132kV transmission lines.The firm’s railways business has secured orders worth INR2.48bn ($37M) for overhead electrification in India, and its cables business won an INR1.71bn ($25.5M) contract to supply power and telecom cables.KEC International managing director and CEO Vimal Kejriwal said: “We are pleased that we continue to strengthen our order book across various businesses and geographies.“In the Transmission and Distribution arena, the order win in Thailand is a significant step in our pursuit to diversify our geographic spread into the ASEAN region. On the Domestic front, the order wins clearly reflect a strong growth in the intra-state T&D network.“The new order wins in Railways strengthen our belief that the Railway Business is poised for a rapid built-up in order book and revenues.”
Goodyear (Thailand) is set to invest $162M in the expansion of its factory in Pathum Thani province, Thailand.The expansion project will enable the production of radial aviation tyres.According to Goodyear’s managing director Finbarr O'Connor, the development will help the company’s current market demand as commercial airlines are rapidly converting their fleets to radial tyres from bias tyres.O'Connor further said that the world's aviation fleet is expected to double in size over the next two decades.The expansion will be carried out in three phases, with phase one expected to start operations by 2018. The project will create 100 new jobs.
National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) has awarded two engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts for the construction of two national highway projects worth INR16.46bn ($245.4M) in Jharkhand, India.One of the contracts has been awarded to Ashoka Buildcon and will involve the development of the 57km-long Govindpur-Chas-Jharkhand/West Bengal Border section. The project will include 38km of national highway with four lanes and 19km with two lanes, as well as four railway-over-bridges, one railway-under-bridge and a 5km-long bypass to Maheshpur town. This section will facilitate the transport of coal and steel, thus contributing to industrial development in the country. The INR9.46bn ($141M) project is expected to be complete in two years.The second contract has been awarded to Ramky Infrastructure for the construction of the 41km-long Barhi-Hazaribagh section.The scope of the work will include the construction of five major bridges, three elephant crossings, two vehicular underpasses and an 11km-long bypass to Hazaribagh city.The project aims to improve connectivity of Hazaribagh, Ranchi and Jamshedpur cities to Delhi-Kolkata corridor through NH-2.The development, valued at INR7bn ($104.3M), is expected to be complete within 21 months.
An engineering solution devised by heavy lifting specialist Mammoet will be used in Malaysia to assist with the placement of large reactor vessels, as part of an expansion at a petrochemical complex.The expansion project includes the installation of new reactor vessels ranging up to 650t and over 100m tall.To overcome the site’s constraint operating area and low pipe rack, Mammoet has come up with a “unique solution” to install the vessels. The use of one of its PTC 35 ring cranes — with a capacity of up to 1,600t — will enable the vessels to be installed from a main road and lifted over the pipe rack. Mammoet APAC manager solutions Roel Wesel said: “Mammoet was able to provide our client with a unique solution that would optimize the handling of heavy vessels. Less movements on site results in reduced risks, reduced costs and a faster completion, reducing the overall time-to-market for our client.”
Sustainable urban and business space solutions provider Ascendas-Singbridge is set to build a $400M IT park in Gurgaon, India. The new 60-acre International Tech Park Gurgaon (ITPG) will feature 743,000sq m of business space, as well as social amenities to meet the needs of 60,000 professionals. It will also include food courts along with banking, transport and covered parking spaces.The first phase of the project will include two buildings offering 93,000sq m of Grade-A business space. Work on the first building is currently underway, and is expected to be complete in the fourth quarter of 2017.Ascendas-Singbridge’s deputy group CEO Manohar Khiatani said: “ITPG will be our eighth IT Park in India and we are convinced that this development will enhance the attractiveness of the National Capital Region and help create quality jobs.”Ascendas-Singbridge India operations CEO Sanjay Dutt said: “Gurgaon is the focal point of economic growth in NCR and second largest office market in India with significant investments made by large multinational corporations. “With over two decades of experience in India, we will bring our best practices to ITPG and provide best-in-class business space and asset management services in Gurgaon, offering our clients an attractive business environment to operate in.”
India’s Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs, chaired by the prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved the construction of nine projects worth about INR240bn ($3.57bn) to enhance railway network across the country.The projects given the go-ahead include:• a third rail line between Ballarshah, Maharashtra and Kazipet, Telangana. The INR24.03bn ($358.3M), 201km-long line is anticipated to be complete in five years.• a third rail line between Itarsi and Nagpur. The line stretches 280km and will involve a cost of INR28.82bn ($429.8M). It is expected to be complete in five years.• a third rail line between Jhansi and Bina. With an estimated cost of INR22.73bn ($339M), the 152.57km-long line is expected to be complete in four years.• a third rail line between Vijayawada Junction and Gudur Junction. The NR38.75bn ($557.9M), 288km-long line is expected to be complete in six years.• a third rail line between Mathura and Jhansi. The 273.80km-long line, with an expected completion cost of INR43.77bn ($652.7M), is anticipated to be complete in six years.• a fourth rail line, with an estimated cost of INR22.98bn ($342.7M) between Jharsuguda and Bilaspur. The 206km-long line is expected to be complete in five years.• a third rail line between Rajnandgaon-Nagpur (Kalumna). The INR21.93bn ($327M), 228.3km-long line is estimated to be complete in five years.• a third rail line between Kharagpur (Nimpura) and Adityapur in West Singhburn district of Jharkhand with an estimated cost of INR14.83bn ($221M). The 132km-long line is expected to be complete in four years.• an INR25.86bn ($385.6M) second line between New Bongaigaon and Kamakhya. The 176km-long line is expected to be complete in five years.
Spanish construction firm Isolux Corsan has secured a €113M contract from the National Highway Authority of India for the construction of a highway project.Under the contract, Isolux Corsan will widen the 72km section of the Highway NH-74 between Haridwar, in Uttarakhand, and Nagina, in Uttar Pradesh, to four lanes. The scope of the work will include the construction of 12 primary and secondary bridges, a high bypass in Njibabad, a bridge over the train tracks and two steps for elephants.It will also include the construction of five bypasses with a total length of 16km, and the creation of service roads, parking for heavy vehicles and a toll plaza.Isolux Corsan is expected to execute the works within 30 months and will be responsible for the project’s maintenance for four years.
A joint venture of China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) and George Kent (Malaysia) has secured a work package for the Mass Rapid Transit Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line in Malaysia.The work package, known as Package SSP- SY-204, has been awarded by Mass Rapid Transit Corporation (MRT Corp) and is valued at MYR1.01bn ($250M).Under the contract, the joint venture will be responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction, testing and commissioning of track works, maintenance vehicles and work trains. MRT Corp CEO Shahril Mokhtar said: “CCCC comes with very good technical know-how having handled many infrastructure projects, including railway construction. “Its joint venture with Malaysian company George Kent, which now has a strong presence in the railway industry in Malaysia, allows the MRT Project to benefit from the experience of these two very strong companies.”
US-based Jacobs Engineering has won a contract to design and provide engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) services for Pfizer’s new $350M biotechnology centre in China.Jacobs will be responsible for the development of the entire site design, which includes central utility buildings, a quality laboratory, administration offices, and a warehouse.Jacobs’ senior vice president of life sciences Robert Norfleet said: “This is an exciting opportunity for our Life Sciences business. We have a long history of helping Pfizer grow and expand its global manufacturing capabilities.“We look forward to partnering with Pfizer once again to develop this state-of-the-art biotechnology center in China.”The project for the biopharmaceutical company is anticipated to be finished in 2018.
Larsen & Toubro has won an INR7bn ($104.1M) order from Piramal Realty for the core and shell civil work of a luxury residential project in Mumbai, India.The project, known as Piramal Aranya, will encompass about 400,000sq m of construction area. The total investment for the project is estimated at about INR44.5bn ($662M), including land, project development and execution costs.Piramal Aranya will feature two towers, including 3-, 3.5- and 4-bedroom-hall-kitchen apartments. Piramal Group executive director Anand Piramal said: “We launched Piramal Aranya in March earlier this year in an endeavour to build world-class luxurious residential high rises in the city. It is our most significant residential development and we are making every effort to ensure that it is one of the finest buildings in the world.”
UAE-based retailer Lulu Group is set to invest in a shopping mall, hotel and international convention centre in Thiruvananthapuram, the capital city of Indian state Kerala.The $300M four-storey development will be spread over 19 acres, with a built up area of over 186,000sq m, including a 150-room luxury hotel. Once completed it will be the second biggest shopping mall in India after the LuLu mall in Kochi (pictured) — also owned and managed by Lulu Group, and which was designed by WS Atkins and constructed by Shapoorji Pallonji.The new project — designed by UK’s Design International — will include several fashion and retail brands, an amusement centre, a nine-screen multiplex, a food court with a capacity of 3,500 guests, restaurants, and coffee shops. It will also include parking space for 3,000 cars.The mall is expected to open in 2019.
A joint venture of Hock Lian Seng Infrastructure and Sembcorp Design and Construction has secured a SGD1.107bn ($823.3M) contract for the second packages of works for a three-runway system at Changi Airport, Singapore.The scope of the contract will include pavement and drainage works, mechanical and electrical works, security fencing, perimeter roads, ancillary buildings, as well as other supporting works.CAG’s executive vice president Yam Kum Weng said: “The development of a three-runway system is an important part of Changi Airport’s expansion plans, which will take the Singapore air hub into its next phase of growth.“The project, which takes place amid ongoing airport operations, is complex and requires meticulous planning and excellent execution across different phases.“We look forward to partnering with the Hock Lian Seng and Sembcorp Design and Construction JV in this journey, as we work together to ensure the highest quality and standards in carrying out this project.”Changi Airport’s three-runway system is expected to be operational by early 2020.The first package of works was awarded to a Samsung C&T Corporation and Koh Brothers joint venture in October 2015.
Southeast Asia is in need of $2.1tr in infrastructure spending by 2030 to meet their growing population demands, according to a report by banking group HSBC.HSBC economist Joseph Incalcaterra stated in the report that the urban population in the region will rise by over 90M by 2030 and that the planned infrastructure spending would only cover $910bn.Incalcaterra said: “To fill the infrastructure gap, more non-government financing is necessary, both from private sources and institutions such as the Asian Development Bank and new Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.”The six countries covered in the report are Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.According to the report, regional governments have to increase infrastructure spending. Low- to middle-income economies should spend at least 5% of gross domestic product (GDP) on infrastructure — only Vietnam has been meeting this target.Indonesia and the Philippines have been increasing infrastructure budgets, while Thailand and Singapore had promised increased infrastructure spending and Malaysia should attract more investment. Incalcaterra added: “Governments across the region thus need to be much more aggressive with increasing PPP programmes and instituting proper reforms to deepen capital markets. Only that will fill ASEAN’s gaping infrastructure pothole.”
Abu Dhabi-based National Marine Dredging Company (NMDC) has secured an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for a new liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal in Gujarat, India.Under the $316M contract, NMDC will be responsible for the land reclamation activities, and the construction of breakwaters, jetties and associated facilities.The project — part of the company’s plan to expand its operational footprint into Asia — will also include massive dredging and marine infrastructure works. Mobilisation of the equipment to the working site will start in the post-monsoon 2016 period.
Chinese technology firm LeEco is set to invest RMB12bn ($1.8bn) to build an electric car plant in the eastern Zhejiang province of China.The plant, to be located near the Mogan Mountain in eastern Zhejiang, will have an annual production capacity of 400,000 battery-powered vehicles. The project will be carried out in two phases and will be part of a planned $3bn theme park, which will comprise auto-related elements. The company did not disclose details about when construction would commence on the plant or park.LeEco also plans to produce cars at a factory being built by US strategic partner Faraday Future in Las Vegas.
China Railway Group has signed a $3.14bn contract with Bangladesh Railway for the construction of the Padma Bridge Rail Link project in Bangladesh.The 168.6km, single-track rail line will originate from the existing Dhaka station and will pass through the Padma Multi-Purpose Bridge, which is under construction, via Mawa to reach Jessore via Bhanga.The middle section of the line will connect with the existing Rajbari-Kashiani Railway and Faridpur-Bhanga Railway. The entire line will represent the new framework for the Southwest Bangladesh railway network.The project will include the construction of bridges, roadbeds, ancillary works, track-laying works and communication signals.It will also involve the construction of station buildings and ancillary works, purchase of vehicles, construction design, training programmes and remedying defects upon completion of the rail line.The line will have a target speed of 120kmph and is expected to be built within four-and-a-half years.
Ten Liebherr tower cranes are being used in Russia to construct what will be the Europe’s tallest building.The Lakhta tower, part of the Lahkta Center in St. Petersburg, will be 462m high when completed.The 87-storey building was designed by British architects RMJM and will be home to the head office of energy company Gazprom. The tower will include sports facilities, a children’s technical park, a planetarium, a panoramic restaurant, a viewing terrace and additional office space. Moreover, the project will include the construction of a multi-purpose building featuring a cinema and theatre, among other amenities. Contractor Reinaissance Construction is erecting the Lakhta tower using four Liebherr luffing jib cranes, while the multi-purpose facility is being built with three luffing jib and three high-top cranes — all owned by rental company Sutek.The tower is expected to be complete in 2018.
Toshiba has won a JPY9bn ($89M) order from Thailand’s Gunkul Engineering to build a solar power plant in Kimitsu, Chiba prefecture, Japan.The facility, located on a 47-hectare site, will have a power generation capacity of about 33.5MW. As per the terms of the contract, Toshiba will be responsible for the plant’s overall engineering — including basic design and the supply of major equipment — and construction.The plant will generate about 45M kWh of electricity annually, enough to meet the needs of 10,000 households. The power plant — expected to reduce 20,000t of carbon dioxide emissions annually — is scheduled to commence operation in March 2019.