Two consultants that specialize in transportation public-private-partnership (P3) deals and alternative financing aim to gain larger platforms through new corporate owners.
Pea-Mora lost faculty vote of confidence and stepped down. Related Links: October 2011 letter to interim Columbia U. Provost John H. Coatsworth Pena-Mora resignation statement Even with strong support on campus and off in three years as dean of the Columbia University Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science, Feniosky Peña-Mora could not survive faculty dismay with his administration.The New York City-based university announced his resignation July 3 in an email to students and staff, and said faculty veteran Donald Goldfarb would become interim dean while a search for a permanent successor begins. He had been named several months
The status of a highly-showcased $3-billion bridge and road program in Bangladesh, seen as an economic driver for the impoverished nation, remains unclear after the World Bank canceled a $1.2-billion credit, citing the government’s “inadequate response” to charges of corruption on the project.
Related Links: Turner Construction Co. has elevated Mark Breslin to CEO of Sahara Turner—the contractor's new partnership with Indian developer Sahara Prime City Ltd. and Acropolis Capital Group, a financial investment firm—to oversee an estimated $2.5 billionin construction in India over the next five years. He had been vice president and general manager of Turner's New York North region. Breslin, who joined the firm as a superintendent in 1995, will be based in Mumbai. Turner promoted Rich Homan to executive vice president. Formerly senior vice president, he now adds supervision of the firm's multistate Southeast region to his duties. Homan
Jens-Peter Saul has joined Copenhagen-based engineering firm Ramboll A/S as CEO. Most recently, he had been CEO of Siemens Wind Power, a unit of the German conglomerate. Saul also served as managing director of Siemens Energy in the U.K. and northern and western Europe. As Ramboll CEO, Saul succeeds Flemming Pederson, who becomes a consultant to the company, the largest engineering firm in the northern Europe region. It ranks at No. 26 on ENR's list of the Top 200 International Design Firms, with $701 million in 2010 revenue. Pedersen had been CEO of Ramboll since 1992.Charles D. Linn has been
Photo by Don Wilson; courtesy of POWER Engineers Electrical union workers installed anchorages on both sides of the falls to stretch and secure a 2 in.-dia. wire cable. Photo by Steve Behal, courtesy of POWER Engineers High-wire stuntman Nik Wallenda successfully completed the 1,800-ft walk across Niagara Gorge on June 15. Related Links: Engineering News-Record Famed stuntman Nik Wallenda, who last month became the first person allowed to cross directly over Niagara Falls, did so on a 2-in.-dia. cable that was stretched 1,800 ft across the U.S.-Canada border waterfalls by a team of engineers, contractors and members of an electrical
In one of the industry's larger recent cross-border transactions, Montreal-based professional services firm Genivar Inc. has agreed to spend $431 million to buy the higher-revenue U.K. engineering firm WSP Group plc in a cash deal that includes pension liabilities. The deal, announced on June 7, would add 9,000 employees over a broader global footprint to Genivar's 5,500 mostly Canadian staffers, and officials said they did not expect "significant" staff cuts. The transaction is set to close by July 31, with a vote by WSP shareholders scheduled for July 13. Genivar will retain its listing on the Toronto Stock
. Book recounts how the stimulus unfolded and affected construction, among other sectors. Construction obviously plays a key role in this examination of the the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act—better known as the stimulus. This new book tells the story of how the largest economic recovery plan in U.S. history was created and executed, how it affected the American public and what it accomplished.The depth of research and first-person interviewing by Michael Grabell, a reporter for the non-profit investigative news service ProPublica, is evident.Among other efforts, he recounts a visit to a stimulus-funded New Jersey bridge renovation site and interviews
In its continuing quest to raise the profile and professionalism of construction management, the Construction Management Association of America has issued a well-crafted guide to this not-always-understood industry niche. It details how current and prospective practitioners can better serve owners as well as advance their own careers.Author John J. McKeon, a CMAA staff vice president, has laid out a detailed overview of the profession, from education and job requirements to global challenges and trends. He has canvassed the group's membership to include their explanations and anecdotes, punctuating and personalizing the narrative. Some are better than others, and voices of private-sector
After months of silence while it negotiated project issues with airlines and residents, the city of Philadelphia announced on June 4 that a team led by CH2M Hill Cos. will be program manager for a major expansion of Philadelphia International Airport.
