Kuwaiti translators hired by a former AECOM business and contractor DynCorp under two large US Army contracts claim in a whistleblower lawsuit that the firms knew of alleged abuses, a case that a US district court judge allowed on March 9 to proceed; the firms now operate as Amentum.
A global nuclear energy watchdog and the financier of the $2.8B program to cover the Chernobyl site's damaged reactor raised concern March 10 of power loss safety impacts, with worry also of a monitoring system cutoff at the still operating Zaporizhizhia plant—as both remain in Russian control.
Equipment giant Caterpillar, design giant WSP and others announce they will detach, while more are ‘closely monitoring’ the situation overseas as it directly affects projects, clients and personnel.
White House officials say import halt, supported by a bipartisan group of lawmakers, is necessary to put additional pressure on Vladimir Putin over Ukraine invasion, but its costs are likely to be felt in the construction industry and the overall economy.
Austrian contractor Strabag confirms ownership link to Russian oligarch but cites no EU, UK or US sanctions and has cut off dividends to his firm; long-time Ukraine contractor Onur Group will stay put "but we are watching the developments sadly and with concern,” says an official.
As conflict expands, Germany looks to extend use of last three nuclear power plants it planned to close this year, while EU gets 10-point plan to cut Russia gas dependence by one-third in a year and Denmark announces new steps to halt Russian gas imports.
The new T7X model eliminates the diesel engine and the entire hydraulics system, pointing the way toward a future of fully electrified heavy equipment.