Photo Courtesy Bauma China Excavators on display at the last Bauma China exhibition, held last November in Shanghai. The Chinese yuan tumbled 3.8% after Chinese officials announced they were devaluing their currency on August 12, and further drops are expected. But for Chinese exporters, including those dealing in construction equipment, these currency shifts may help them compete on price in the global market."It is true that a weaker currency could drive Chinese exports higher," concedes Benjamin Duyck, director of market intelligence at the Association of Equipment Manufacturers. Meanwhile, U.S. equipment exporters are struggling to raise exports at a time when

Related Links: Chinese Construction Industry Association Explains Silk Road Program Mr. Xi's Grand Silk Road Plan Leaves the Starting Gate As China is busy seeking converts for its Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road program to build a network of linked infrastructure across Asia and Europe, equipment majors Caterpillar Inc. and Terex Corp. say they are enthusiastic about the One Belt, One Road program, as China calls it."Caterpillar is confident the One Belt, One Road initiative will strengthen connectivity in the region and globally," Qihua Chen, Caterpillar vice president and its China chief, told ENR in an email. "Caterpillar is

Related Links: Chinese Construction Industry Association Explains Silk Road Program Mr. Xi's Grand Silk Road Plan Leaves the Starting Gate Chinese construction companies are expected soon to begin surveys and feasibility studies on a 5,300-km-long trans-oceanic railway project that will connect Brazil with Peru. The move, which was made possible during recent meetings between Brazilian leaders and visiting Chinese Premier Li Keqiang in May, is the latest example of China's efforts to extend its Silk Road program to Latin America.The project will be watched closely by environmentalists because it will likely have to pass through the Amazon forest. Environmentalists have

Enlarge _ Related Links: Mr. Xi's Grand Silk Road Plan Leaves the Starting Gate China Inks Silk Road Deals With Brazil, Russia and India The China Construction Industry Association, which represents the country's construction and engineering companies, is touting Xi Jinping's ambitious Silk Road and Maritime Silk Road international infrastructure programs, which the government calls the "One Belt, One Road" initiative.The CCIA replied to ENR's questions through email.ENR: Centuries ago traders established the Silk Road to move Chinese goods to the rest of the world. Please tells us about the new Silk Road.CCIA: The One Belt, One Road program is

Photo Courtesy Pakistan Press Information Department Chinese President Xi (left) met Pakistani Prime Minister Sharif in Islamabad to sign pacts covering $46 billion worth of infrastructure work. Enlarge Click to enlarge. Back in October 2013, when Chinese President Xi Jinping unveiled his grand plan to construct a commercial empire by creating dozens of linked infrastructure projects across 20-odd countries, politicians and construction companies the world over responded with minimal enthusiasm.But by the end of April, the first part of the monumentally ambitious Silk Road program was underway, with Xi and his officials inking agreements on nearly a dozen infrastructure projects

Related Links: China To Build First New U.K. Nuke Plants in More Than 20 Years China has lifted the ban on constructing new nuclear powerplants as part of an ambitious plan to add 30,000 MW of nuclear energy by 2020, which will bring it closer to U.S. production capability. After the 2011 nuclear accident in Fukushima, Japan, China banned capacity expansion as the country closely examined its safety standards in existing plans.The government plans to take the number of nuclear powerplants to 75 from 22 at present in about five years. There are 26 reactors under construction, and 27 more

Related Links: Suspended Sri Lankan Port Project Complicates Sirisena's Trip to China China and India Vie For Work in Surrounding Nations Flying into Beijing, Sri Lanka’s President Maithripala Sirisena seemed to hold the key to an important part of China’s latest dream, the so-called Silk Road plan. China desperately wanted him to lift a suspension order that his government recently clamped on a $1.4-billion port-city project in Colombo, Sri Lanka's largest city.The project is being financed and constructed by Chinese companies because it would give China access to the Indian Ocean, which is one end of the Silk Road project's

Photo Courtesy of Terex/Genie Aerial work platforms are expected to grow in China as contractors look for safer working methods at height. Related Links: Rentals Rising in China Overturns and Falls Lead Aerial-Work-Platform Deaths China rang in the New Year with five deadly construction related accidents that left 26 people dead and more than 50 injured. Curiously, the Chinese government last year began tightening laws and implementation systems to reduce accidental deaths in construction sites.The recent accidents included a tunnel collapse, a foundation cave-in, a roof collapse and two cases of scaffolding breaking down.A worried government issued orders on January

Image Courtesy of InterBering LLC The Moscow-Beijing high-speed rail line may one day connect to a possible tunnel under the Bering Strait to North America. Related Links: Dream Projects: Bering Strait Tunnel China has bagged a Russian contract to build a high-speed railway that would connect Moscow to Beijing in just 48 hours. This is part of a more grandiose plan to connect China with the United States and Canada by creating a tunnel in the Pacific."If the funds are raised smoothly … the line can be completed in five years at the quickest," Wang Meng-shu, a tunnel and railway

Human-rights groups express concerns over conditions for migrant workers for a planned $27-billion museum and resort complex in Saadiyat, United Arab Emirates. Related Links: Sepp: FIFA 'Not Responsible' for Welfare of Migrant Workers in Qatar UN investigates claims of Gulf state abuse of migrant workers Productivity and safety on construction sites in Asian and Middle Eastern countries that depend on migrant labor have long been issues, but they now also have come under more scrutiny from the United Nations and human rights groups that complain about large scale mistreatment of workers. But Singapore is setting a higher standard by actually