Related Links: Israel Seeks More Global Skill in New Rail Line Expansions Jerusalems Signature Span Is New Landmark in Old City Tel Aviv's Long-Delayed Rail Megaproject Is Finally Under Way With ridership on Jerusalem's first light-rail line more than double initial projections, officials in the city and the country's Transportation Ministry are moving ahead with plans for five new lines.Officials report that 140,000 riders now use the train on a regular day. The expansions could bring that number to 250,000, they say.The existing red line is to be expanded to 36.2 kilometers from 13.9 km to two new neighborhoods, Neve
Related Links: Bids Solicited for Tunneling in India's Treacherous Himalayas The Indian government is late in approving a proposed $1.6-billion, 14-kilometer-long twin-tunnel project in Kashmir. The project was originally due for a decision on Oct. 17, though expectations at the time were that the Union Government would clear the project.The tunnels, when completed, will become the highest mountain passes in India. It is a vital road-link project that will connect the strategically important region of Kargil and Leh to the rest of India through the proposed all-weather tunnel in Kashmir.Currently, for about six months during the winter season, these two
Related Links: GEA release on global geothermal report Activity in the global geothermal market continues to pick up steam, with more than 670 geothermal projects under way in 70 countries, according to new report from the Washington, D.C.-based Geothermal Energy Association. The report, "2013 Geothermal Power: International Market Overview," found that more than 11,700 megawatts of new geothermal capacity, equal to that currently available from existing geothermal systems, are in the early stages of development or under construction, with the U.S., East Africa and Southeast Asia among the hottest markets. Geothermal Energy Association (GEA) Executive Director Karl Gawell says the
Norwegian oil-and-gas giant Statoil pulled the plug on its Hywind Maine offshore wind project due to commercial uncertainty, but the University of Maine is forging ahead with plans to build a 12-MW offshore wind farm in the Gulf of Maine by 2017.“Statoil will now focus on the Hywind concept in Scotland, a project we have matured in parallel with Hywind Maine during the last three years,” according to a Statoil statement released on Oct. 15.Trine Ulla, head of business development for floating wind at Statoil, says, “Regardless of our exit [from] Maine, we will continue to explore the U.S. offshore
Related Links: AIA Press release on Trade Mission Opportunities for architecture and design firms are abundant in Brazil, but the best way to take advantage of those opportunities is to have boots on the ground, says Andrew Goldberg, the American Institute of Architect’s (AIA) managing director, government relations and outreach, who returned from a five-day trade mission to Brazil Oct. 10th.“The main thing we learned was that if you want to do work in places like Brazil, you really have to commit, and you need to be there… You need to be there on the ground, building relationships,” he says.The
Related Links: India Prepares for Population Explosion The 147-year-old Shapoorji Pallonji Group, which has built Mumbai's high-end buildings like that of RBI, is now planning to expand its affordable housing arena across India, apart from Kolkata.The firm's real estate company Shapoorji Pallonji Real Estate (SPRE) has ventured into its first affordable housing project in Rajarhat, Kolkata, with SP Shukobrishti, and plans to extend this drive to other cities. The firm says that there is a huge market in the affordable segment and are looking at it seriously.Shapoorji entered the affordable housing segment in 2007 to cater to the highly under-serviced
Photos courtesy of SASOL Sasol existing chemicals plant in Lake Charles, La.; the South African firm's planned new facilities would be adjacent. Sasols flagship gas-to-liquids facility in Qatar, which it owns in joint venture with Qatar Petroleum, cost much more than its original $5-billion construction estimate, one Wall Street analyst says. Related Links: Sasol Advances U.S. Ethane and Derivatives Project Western Canada Eyes Gas-to-Liquid Production Facility South Africa integrated energy and chemical company Sasol is pushing ahead with its planned gas-to-liquids (GTL) facility and ethane cracker projects in Louisiana, with the latter's final investment decision expected by the first quarter
Photo Courtesy of GE Algeria has one of GE's largest installed equipment bases, including more than 400 gas turbines, 340 compressors and 35,000 kilometers of inspected pipelines. Related Links: East Africa Power Transmission Project Ready for Takeoff After Funding Approval Algeria’s national electricity-and-gas company, Sonelgaz, has, through one of its subsidiaries, signed three power-generation equipment-supply contracts with Fairfield, Conn.-based GE worth $2.7 billion as the country prepares to meet increasing domestic energy consumption, now estimated at 30.9 billion cu meters.The three contracts, awarded on Sept. 23 by Sonelgaz’s Société Algérienne de Production de l’Electricité (SPE Spa), are for the supply
Courtesy of EDF Planned new nuclear complex would be built at site of reactors built in previous decades (below). China’s state-owned nuclear industry has secured a major European foothold with deals announced on Oct. 21 for the first new plants in the U.K. in more than two decades.Construction of the two 1,660-MW European pressurized-reactor (EPR) water units, valued at more than $22 billion, is set to start next summer on the Hinkley Point C project, in Somerset, England, subject to final financing decisions next year by the French project developer EDF Group.The project would be adjacent to the site's existing
Related Links: Israel Firm Awarded Contract at Record-Size Desal Plant in California Tampa Bay is Ready to Test Whether Fixed Plant is Worth its Salt Many hopes are riding on the new $1-billion, 54-million-gallon-a-day seawater desalination plant and pipeline in Carlsbad, Calif. If successful, the project, made possible through one of the first public-private partnerships of its kind in the U.S., could serve as a model for other projects around the country.If the project falters, however, the growing momentum for similar U.S. seawater desalination projects could face a reversal, industry observers say."It is being watched closely right now," says Peter
RSS
