Mott MacDonald has been selected as owner’s engineer by Pacifico Energy K.K. for the 257.7MW Sakuto solar photovoltaic (PV) project in Mimasaka-shi, Japan.
Kanoya Osaki Solar Hills LLC has started construction on a JPY35bn ($315M) solar power plant in Japan.
Tokyo breaks ground on the new $1.5bn national stadium that will serve as the main venue for the 2020 Olympic Games.
The International Organisation for Standardization (ISO) has laid down the design principles to create earthquake-resistant cranes. The new ISO 11031 can be used to calculate seismic loads, and sets out the design principles for cranes destined to work in seismically-active regions and for cranes required to be seismically-resistant.Klaus Pokorny, secretary of the ISO subcommittee working on design principles and requirements for cranes, said: “To make sure that cranes are safe, we first need to calculate the seismic loads that show how a crane will respond in moderate to severe earthquakes. Then you can use design limit states provided in two forms: serviceability limit and ultimate limit. “The serviceability limit state (SLS) ensures that the crane can withstand the effects of moderate earthquake ground motions throughout its service lifetime and continue to operate as intended. The ultimate limit state (ULS) requires that the crane structure should not collapse during severe earthquake ground motions, and that the suspended load or any other part of the crane should not fall or harm the public, operators and workers.” Pokorny added: “Any evaluation should take into account the regional seismic conditions as well as the ground surface conditions at the crane location. It’s also important to consider how the crane will be used and any risks that could result from seismic damage.“Not only will ISO 11031 add a layer of confidence to the industry, it also provides a common technical language so that manufacturers, users and owners understand each other clearly, no matter where they are — a boost for global trade.” The need of a standard to ensure seismic-resistant cranes was first highlighted by Japan, after the 1995 earthquake in Kobe.
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.
Larsen & Toubro’s (L&T) power business, via its joint venture company L&T-MHPS Boilers Private Limited (LMB), has won an INR38.6bn ($576M) order for a thermal power project in Uttar Pradesh, India.The scope of the contract, awarded by Neyveli Uttar Pradesh Power Limited (NUPPL), includes the design, engineering, manufacture, supply, erection and commissioning of the 3x660MW Ghatampur thermal power plant.L&T Power CEO and managing director Shailendra Roy said: “This is a prestigious order from NUPPL for supercritical steam generators, with state-of-the-art equipment meeting new emission norms. LMB will meet the project schedule with best endeavours and resources conforming to international quality standards.”Currently, LMB — a joint venture between L&T India and Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) — is delivering nine units of steam generator packages for large-capacity steam generators totalling 5,940MW in the country. Furthermore, six supercritical units have already commenced operations.The joint venture is also executing nine export orders for the supply of pulverisers and pressure parts for MHPS’ projects in Japan and Indonesia.
Goodman Group has commenced the second stage of development of the $1.5bn Goodman Business Park in Chiba Newtown, Japan.
Toshiba has announced plans to build a new semiconductor fabrication facility in Japan’s Mie prefecture.The new Fab 2 building will be built on land adjacent to the Yokkaichi Operations memory production complex in Mie prefecture. It will be used for expanded production of the company’s proprietary 3D flash memory product brand Bics Flash.Production requires needs a new clean room with dedicated equipment for the 3D process. The new facility will initially offer this space following its completion in the first half of fiscal 2016.The construction and equipment investment for the project is estimated to cost about JPY360bn ($3.2bn). The investment will take place from fiscal 2016 to fiscal 2018. Final decisions on the construction timeline and facility investment will be made in fiscal 2016, with production due to start in 2018.
A joint venture between Japan's Marubeni and South Korea's Posco Energy has won an $800m contract to expand the Morupule B power plant in Botswana.The project would expand the coal-fired plant’s capacity by an extra 300MW, from its existing capacity of 600MW. The power generated would be sold to the Botswana Power Corporation under a 30-year power purchase deal at a cost of 812.56 pula per megawatt hour.Construction work on the new plant is due to start in late 2016, with the first power generated added to the national grid by May 2020. The project is expected to increase national power generation capacity to over 1,000MW from the existing capacity of 600MW.
Japanese engineering services firm JGC has secured a contract worth JPY40bn ($329.9m) to construct a gas processing plant in Bahrain.
Century Properties Group, via its subsidiary Century City Development Corporation (CCDC), and Japanese firm Mitsubishi have broken ground on Forbes Media Tower at Century City in Makati, Philippines.
Sumitomo and IHI have bagged a turnkey engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) contract to build an 110MW gas-fired combined-cycle power plant in Mozambique’s capital Maputo.