Displaying items by tag: construction

Poland: Xella Polska supplied its Ytong autoclaved aerated concrete (AAC) blocks for the construction of the 174m-high The Bridge skyscraper in Warsaw's Wola District. When inaugurated, the building will be Poland’s tallest, featuring 40 floors of office space. It will be equipped with a Building Energy Management System and be 100% solar powered, making it energy neutral. Xella Polska noted the insulation benefits of Ytong AAC blocks, as well as its increased fire resistance, compared with other building materials.

Fiji: New Zealand-based Fletcher Building has agreed to sell its 50% stake in construction firm Higgins Holdings Fiji to Fiji National Provident Fund (FNPF) and Fijian Holdings for US$12.3m. BusinessDesk News has reported that the parties expect to complete the deal by early July 2024. The transaction includes a non-cash impairment of US$9.2m on the business.

Fletcher Building’s acting CEO Nick Traber said "We believe the partnership positions the business well to continue to play an important role in Fiji, focused on infrastructure development.”

FNPF CEO Viliame Vodonaivalu said “This co-investment not only diversifies our investment portfolio, but also creates mutual benefits for the fund in complementing our unlisted property portfolio and development pipeline. We are proud to collaborate with Fletcher, a longstanding leader in Fiji’s construction sector since 1971, renowned for their quality and dependable services. With a workforce of 700 Fijians, Fletcher stands as the largest construction company in Fiji, highlighting their corporate strength and reliability in the industry.”

Kazakhstan: Denmark-based COBOD supplied its BOD2 3D printer for use in BM Partners’ construction of a house in Almaty. BM Partners designed the house, which has enhanced weather and earthquake resistance. It is fitted with expanded polystyrene concrete (EPC) insulating blocks.

Australia: Local authorities in Isaac, Queensland, have received an application for the planned US$664m Lotus Creek wind farm, including the construction of three temporary ready-mix concrete batching plants to supply the project. The plants will supply 55,000m³ of concrete for the footings of 46 turbine towers. Each one will operate successively as construction progresses over a period of two years. The Lotus Creek wind farm originally secured planning permission in late 2022.

Sweden: Heidelberg Materials has won a contract to supply its evoZero net-zero concrete. product for the construction of the new Nobel Center in Stockholm. Heidelberg Materials says that its memorandum of understanding with the Nobel Foundation ‘symbolises an important link between science and the green industrial transformation.’ EvoZero concrete achieves its carbon neutrality through Heidelberg Materials’ use of carbon capture at its cement plants.

Jon Morrish, member of Heidelberg Materials’ managing board responsible for Europe, said “Together with the Nobel Center project, we aim to set a new standard for sustainable construction and pave the way for other future-orientated players. The collaboration enables us to combine the world of science and innovative solutions from our own sector such as evoZero in an exciting way.”

UK: Recycl8 has completed its first large-scale commercial project in partnership with Breedon Group. The partners supplied R8 Mix reduced-CO₂ concrete for the installation of an industrial floor slab at Aurora Energy Services site in Inverness. R8 Mix concrete is produced using incinerator bottom ash and Breedon Group’s blended cement.

Recycl8 chief executive officer Mark Gillespie said "We are excited to be working with Aurora Energy Services. It is particularly gratifying for us to be carrying out our first large-scale commercial project with an organisation which is committed to supporting the energy sector transition to net zero, with a particular focus on the renewables sector. With our commitment to fostering a sustainable, circular-economy future for the construction industry by playing our part in lowering carbon emissions from concrete manufacture, we share the same values and synergies."

Czech Republic: Cemex Czech Republic has successfully commissioned its Prague-Libuš ready-mix concrete batching plant in Prague, following an upgrade. The upgraded plant can now process five types of cements and admixtures, including Cemex’s Vertua reduced-CO₂ concretes and recycled aggregates. Cemex Czech Republic has installed two recycled aggregates production plants at the site to process residual concrete.

Cemex’s vice president materials, Central Europe, Ruediger Kuhn said “Our plant in Libuš forms an important part of our operation in the Czech republic, thanks to its interesting location in the wider centre of the capital and in the immediate vicinity of the planned construction of the Prague Metro D line. We are therefore very pleased to have this site reopened following a considerable investment.” He added “The development at this site confirms Cemex’s determination to offer its customers superior quality products while also meeting its sustainability objectives, supporting the circular economy and reducing emissions wherever possible.”

Kuwait: Kuwait Portland Cement has won a contract with China Gezhouba Group to supply ready-mix concrete for a housing development in Saad Al-Abdullah City. Reuters has reported that the project will take four years and cost US$117m.

Germany: An activist or activists have claimed responsibility for starting a fire that engulfed five trucks, multiple cement silos and part of a building at a Cemex Deutschland ready-mix concrete batching plant in Kreuzberg, Berlin, Zeit Online News has reported.

In a statement posted on news website Indymedia DE, the purported culprit(s) claimed that they targeted the plant for its involvement in supplying concrete for the A100 road expansion project in Berlin. Additionally, the statement alleged that Cemex has supplied concrete for illegal Israeli military checkpoints in Palestine, for which reason the self-proclaimed arsonists chose to target the group’s German subsidiary.

Switzerland: Holcim has partnered with the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich’s Block Research Group, incremental3D and Zaha Hadid Architects Computation and Design Group for the launch of Phoenix, a 3D-printed concrete bridge made using reduced-CO₂ circular technologies. The bridge employs Holcim’s ECOCycle recycled 3D-printing concrete and stands through compression, without reinforcement, reducing the volumes of materials used by 50% compared with conventional construction methods.

Holcim head of global research and development Edelio Bermejo said “I am thrilled to unveil Phoenix, a monument to sustainability and the result of a fruitful collaboration with our partners to meet a common goal: demonstrating that essential infrastructure can be designed and built in a way that is circular and low-carbon today. This project showcases the impact that innovation can have in Holcim’s mission to decarbonise building for a net-zero future.”