Cylindrical Tokamak reactor will include some 60,000 cast-in-place elements (above). Work is under way at the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor in France by a VINCI-led consortium (below). Related Links: In a Test of Technology, the Largest-Ever Fusion Reactor Rises in France International Program Aims To Develop Energy Supply Without Limit Contractors for the main buildings to house the next generation of nuclear-fusion research are due this month to start receiving final designs, allowing construction to start on the 42-hectare French site this fall. The roughly $410-million contract was signed in December. Now, the main concern for the team delivering the
Courtesy BNFL Sellafield complex has some 200 building scheduled for decommissioning. Related Links: URS-Led Team Assumes Control Of U.K.s Sellafield Nuclear Site Owner Separates From Building Team Fees paid by the Nuclear Decommissioning Authority to the U.S.-led consortium managing decommissioning the U.K.'s giant Sellafield nuclear facility is not “a good deal” for British taxpayers, claims a new report by the influential parliamentary Public Accounts Committee. The average cost charged last year by the Nuclear Management Partners consortium for 16 executives reached $1.1 million with the highest earner costing the NDA $1.9 million. Nuclear Management Partners is effectively winding down remaining operations
John Armitt had run major contractors, pioneered the U.K.'s first high-speed-rail system and steered the national railroad infrastructure company out of bankruptcy when a headhunter tempted him to be chairman of the Olympic Delivery Authority, charged with building all infrastructure and facilities for London's 2012 Olympic
Photo by Peter Reina Damaged tower crane dangling after crash. Photo by Peter Reina Related Links: Helicopter Strikes Tower Crane at London High-Rise Project Agusta 109 Helicopter Accident specialists with the U.K. government have launched investigations into the early morning Jan. 16 helicopter crash into a crane attached to a 180-meter-tall residential building under construction in central London. Both the helicopter pilot and a man in the street were killed. Six days after the accident, the building contractor started removing the damaged crane and ordered a replacement to complete the Tower, One St George Wharf project later this year.The twin-engine
Peter Reina for ENR The luffing jib of the tower dangled precariously atop the London skyscraper after being hit by a helicopter. Related Links: YOUTUBE Eyewitness account (video, audio) A helicopter flying in fog and clouds struck a tower crane at a London high-rise project early this morning.Two people in the helicopter died after it had crossed a busy highway and crashed in a nearby street, according to news reports.At about 8 a.m on Jan. 16, the helicopter struck the luffing jib of a tower attached to the new skyscraper rising at 1 St. George Wharf, in the Vauxhall section
Courtesy of Balfour Beatty Deputy CEO Andrew McNaughton moves into U.K. contracting giant's top spot in April. Related Links: Balfour Beatty and Parsons Brinckerhoff Seek Their Sweet Spot as a Global Infrastructure Firm In a planned succession, Ian P. Tyler, a chartered accountant who has led U.K.-based Balfour Beatty PLC since 2005, will step down as CEO on March 31, the firm announced on Jan. 7.Set to replace him is his deputy, chartered civil engineer Andrew J. McNaughton, 48.Tyler presided over Balfour Beatty's tripling in size, including its foray into the U.S. market.The firm acquired, in 2007, Centex Construction, the
Photo courtesy Trevi S.p.A. For the trial, the Trevi team chose a site containing calcareous marl. Related Links: Foundation Flaws Make Wolf Creek Dam a High-Risk Priority Tiger SC-200 Hydromill Specs By excavating a slurry-trench panel 100 meters deeper than ever before, an Italian contractor hopes to grab a bigger share of the market for repairing leaking dam foundations. Trevi S.p.A. engineers claim the 250-m-deep trial wall, recently excavated near the company's Cesena, Italy, headquarters, sets the stage for the potential increased use of deep remedial cutoffs at troubled reservoirs.Trevi's aim for the trial on its new Soilmec Tiger SC-200
Related Links: Tappan Zee Bridge Bidder's Cold Feet Costs Team $2.5 Million The internationally expansive contractor ACS Group, Madrid, has tightened its control of German contractor Hochtief A.G. with the Nov. 20 appointment of Marcelino Fernández Verdes, a former executive of the Spanish firm, as the German company's new CEO.His predecessor, Frank Stieler, held the post for only 19 months since replacing former Hochtief boss Herbert Lütkestratkötter, who quit after unsuccessfully resisting ACS's acquisition of a controlling interest in the German firm.Fernández Verdes, whose appointment was unanimously supported by Hochtief's executive board, led the German firm's Americas division since joining
Related Links: Ill Winds Blow Through Huge U.K. Wind Farm Project Proposals for Massive Irish Wind Farms Rankle Some A U.K. arbitration panel surprised Fluor Corp. and its investors last month with a ruling against the contractor's $480-million claim for additional compensation from owners of the Greater Gabbard wind farm off the coast of England. As a result, Fluor said on Nov. 17 it will take a $400-million charge in the fourth quarter but says the action will not materially affect cash flow."Fluor delivered a quality project, and we are extremely disappointed with this unexpected decision," said company Chairman and
As ships get bigger and faster, their wakes are putting increasing stresses on moorings of nearby vessels, causing some to break free—with potentially disastrous consequences. Now, an international group of organizations has gathered in the Netherlands to develop software to calculate and mitigate wash effects of passing ships to improve port design and operations.With the three-year Research on the Passing Effects of Ships (ROPES) project now two-thirds finished, engineers in Rotterdam plan to validate it with a final set of full-scale ship trials later this month. The Port of Rotterdam is one of 26 organizations— including design firms, other port
