As the investigation and cleanup of the ExxonMobil oil spill in the Yellowstone River continues in Montana, plans for a much longer oil line are coming under scrutiny. The State Dept. says it will consider the recent leak from the ExxonMobil pipeline as part of its ongoing review of the international TransCanada's Keystone XL pipeline, parts of which originate in Hardisty, Alberta, and cross through the same river in Montana on its way to oil terminals located in Texas. “Since we're in the decision process, of course we're looking at what's happened in the ExxonMobil case, and we're interested in
After months of wrangling between the Calgary Airport Authority and the city of Calgary, the airport's $2-billion expansion has received a last-minute add-on: a tunnel underneath the 14,000-ft-long, 200-ft-wide runway. The $1.4 billion terminal is already in construction and substantial work recently started on the $620 million runway—the largest project of its kind in North America.The two entities reached a tentative agreement in May, allowing the city to construct a six-lane extension of Airport Trail east under the runway to connect to the northeast section of the city, also keeping open the possibility for future light rail extension. Jim Stevenson, Calgary
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency finalized new clean air rules on Thursday that have already forced utilities to close dozens of coal plants in lieu of installing billions of dollars of after-market pollution-control equipment.The Cross-State Air Pollution Rule reduces the amount of allowable levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxide in 27 states in the East, the Midwest and Texas. The rule targets SO2 and NOX because they can cross state lines, react with the atmosphere and can contribute to harmful levels of smog and soot.“These clean air standards for power plant pollution will provide some of the greatest human
Construction of East Africa's first-ever standard-gauge railway, which is being undertaken by Kenya, the region's largest economy, has been pushed back by nine months after Kenya’s railway operator delayed the procurement process for the $3-billion project.The Kenyan government now has allocated $36 million in the new financial year, which began on July 1, to jump-start the stalled design studies that were initially slated for completion in April, according to Kenyan Finance Minister Uhuru Kenyatta. The new railway line linking Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda and Burundi would ease freight movement from the port of Mombasa to landlocked countries, helping to reduce transport
Oman and Egypt will spend $2.95 billion in the next few years to expand and rebuild major airports in a bid to boost tourism and cargo capacity. Dubai and Bahrain have also announced significant expansion plans for their airports in order to become global aviation hubs. Related Links: Chinese Suffer Major Setback in European Construction Market Norway Firm Clinches Tanzania Power Contract Hong Kong's Tuen Mun Sludge Incineration Plant Will Be One of World's Largest Kenya Delays $3B Railway Project for Nine Months Israel Embarks on Country's Largest Seismic Retrofit A consortium of San Francisco-based Bechtel, Turkey’s Enka Construction Co.
A final report is pending on how technological advances can aid in the diagnosis, and ultimate rehabilitation, of the nation's vast bridge network, based on an exhaustive study led by Rutgers University in New Jersey, involving teams from three continents. Courtesy Rutgers University Research that will look at U.S. system of 600,000 bridges begins with a single span in Wayne, N.J. Courtesy Rutgers University Non-destructive evaluation methods provide information more quickly, at a fraction of the cost of conventional testing metods. Related Links: Rutgers/PB-Led Research Team Will Study Hundreds Of Bridges The U.S. system includes some 600,000 bridges. This number
Poland's decision on June 13 to cancel the contract with Chinese Overseas Engineering Group (COVEC), a subsidiary of the state-owned China Railway Engineering Corp., to build a 50-km (31-mile) stretch of the key east-west A2 Highway has dealt a blow to Chinese ambitions to break into the lucrative European construction market. Web photo Polish government says it will seek to restart work this summer on Chinese-abandoned highway, but finding a contractor to take on the project could be challenging. Related Links: Oman, Egypt Lead Middle Eastern Push To Upgrade Airports Norway Firm Clinches Tanzania Power Contract Hong Kong's Tuen Mun
South African Sasol Limited and Calgary, Alberta-based Talisman Energy have commissioned a feasibility study to determine where to build of a gas-to-liquid (GTL) plant to take advantage of 44 trillion cu ft of shale gas deposits in northeastern British Columbia. The technical study follows news in March and June of this year that Sasol, an industry leader in GTL technology, paid $2.08 billion for 50% of Talisman’s Farrell Creek and Cyprus A assets. We’ve signaled that we’d like the GTL plant to be near our Montney assets,” says Talisman spokeswoman Phoebe Buckland. “But the exact location is under review, whether
Tanzania has awarded Jacobsen Elektro AS, a Norwegian power engineering firm, a $124.8 million contract to supply and install power generation equipment for a 100MW power plant in the capital Dar es Salaam. The project, funded by Tanzania and Norway, is considered crucial in attempts at easing chronic outages around the capital and for ongoing efforts to integrate regional electricity generation. It also shows how Norway is increasing its presence in Tanzania's energy sector, despite intensifying pressure from Chinese firms.The project is also a keystone in regional electricity integration plans, particularly the Kenya-Tanzania-Zambia interconnection that involves the installation of a
By treating ever-more wastewater rather than discharging it into its harbor, Hong Kong has been creating a growing mountain of sludge, which is set to overwhelm available disposal sites. With more sewage treatment capacity now under development, the Chinese Special Administrative Region is investing in one of the world’s largest fluidised-bed sludge incinerators. Image courtesy Claude Vasconi/Veolia The Tuen Mun is designed to handle 2,000 tonnes of sludge per day. Because of its isolated coastal location, the project includes a seawater desalination facility that will provide water for the site. Image courtesy Arup Completed in 1997, the sewage treatment plant
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