ConocoPhillips, the third-largest integrated energycompany in the US, and Origin Energy, anAustralia-based green energy company, haveawarded major infrastructure contracts for theirAustralia Pacific LNG project based out of CurtisIsland, Australia. A commissioned liquefiednatural gas (LNG) plant at Laird Point, willproduce around 7 million tonne of LNG annuallyfrom 2014. The contracts, awarded to....

Vidler Water Company, a US-based private-sectorwater resources firm, has announced plans todevelop a solar farm that would be the biggest of itstype in the country. Fish Springs Ranch in RenoNevada has been finalised as the location forthe solar farm. The company had purchased the2,670-acre ranch in 2,000 to construct a pipeline.Initially around 200 acres of land will be usedto build the 20-MW fa....

Mwai Kibaki, the President of Kenya, recentlystated that the Chinese government has made acommitment to provide assistance in building aKenyan port. The plan for the portto be constructed at Lamu on the northeastern coastwas earlier proposed in April 2008. The newport will be bigger than Kenyas existing port atMombasa. According to the latest updates fromthe countrys Ministry of Transport, the pr....

In an attempt to develop an ecologicallysustainable community, the Principal Governmentof Miyi County, Sichuan Province, China, hasbegun construction on Phase I of a 330-hectaretown. The towns plan has been designed by theSWA Groups Los Angeles division on the basis ofhistorical ecologies and cutting-edge technologies.The town has a high-density housing layout whichincorporates separate commercia....

The worlds tallest building was recently inaugurated in Dubai.The 818-m tall structure has been developed by Emaar, Dubaisstate-owned developer, with a capital investment of $1.5 billion.Built entirely of glass, concrete and steel, the structure willaccommodate around 12,000 people. The 160-storey building willhouse the worlds highest mosque. Though officially opened, thebuilding is not yet compl....

Real estate construction and operationshave a huge direct and indirect impacton the environment. These processesuse resources such as energy, water andraw materials, generate waste and emitpotentially harmful atmospheric emissions.Over the last few months, the real estate industryhas realised the importance of sustainable design.Developers are beginning to have an increasedcommitment to environme....

Land is the basic raw material for anyreal estate developer. Real estatedevelopers create land banks toenhance their asset base and to createsufficient raw material in the pipeline to ensurethat their businesses continue. Land value neverdepreciates. In fact, with every infrastructural orreal estate development around a piece of land,its value only increases.Mumbai is a highly urbanised area. Lan....

The Chennai Metropolitan Water Supply andSewerage Board (CMWSSB) has awarded aconstruction contract to Va Tech Wabag Ltd, awell-known water-treatment company.The contract involves the construction of a seawater desalination plant in Nemmili, Tamil Nadu.With a capacity of 100 million litres per day, thiswould be the largest of its kind in the country.To accomplish the construction and other tasksa....

IVRCL Infrastructures, a renowned engineeringprocurement and construction (EPC) company inIndia, has made an official announcement that ithas won a string of contracts in various sectors.Worth around Rs 958 crore, the contracts involveprojects in sectors ranging from transportation andirrigation to building and power. One of the mostprominent of the projects has been awarded to thecompany by the ....

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has recently revived its plan to develop a Special Economic Zone (SEZ) at Salem in Tamil Nadu. This decision was taken by the countrys largest steel manufacturing firm in order to meet the growing demand for steel in both the domestic and the international markets. The company has invited new Expressions of Interest (EoIs) to work out the collaborative vent....

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, has officially stated that the country has achieved its target of constructing nine km of roads daily. The ministry also announced that the next target of 12 km road construction per day will be achieved by April 2010. However, to achieve such a target, there must already be 20,000 km of work in progress. At present, the government is in talks with Mal....

The Maharashtra State Government recently proposed amendments in the current Development Control Rules for the state. The proposal has been brought in to facilitate the introduction of Green Building Regulations in the state, beginning with Mumbai and then progressively to tier-II cities in the state. According to the proposed amendments in Development Control Rules, it will be mandatory for new ....

Denver-based architect Curtis Fentress is one of the three men to receive the American Institute of Architects 2010 Thomas Jefferson Award for public architecture. Fentress won AIAs award in the category of private-sector architects of public facilities. Fentress has designed the distinct main terminal of Denver International Airport, the Invesco Field at Mile High as well as the Colorado Convent....

Registration has begun for Ecoweek 2010: Ecology + Community + Architecture, to be held in Athens from March 1320, 2010. The conference will explore passive solar and ecological building technologies and take a look at sustainability in communities. The event is directed at architects, young architects and architecture students, engineers and environmental engineers and will feature lectures and ....

Over the last few decades, Dubai has progressively gained the reputation of being a paradise for bold and luxurious constructions. The recently completed 2,717-foot Burj Khalifa is only another laurel in Dubais glistening crown, bringing to the region the repute of housing the worlds tallest building. Chicago architect Adrian Smith designed the $1.5-billion building, which boasts nightclubs, loft....

PalashThe Green Commune, located at Wakad in the western fringe of Pune, is a project by Vilas Javdekar Eco Homes. What makes this project unique is that buildings here have wind mills on their 11 stories, water recycling facilities, solar power generation and eco-friendly architecture. The 200-flat project has been built in two phases, with the flats in the first phase having been handed over al....

Mulling the development of Gol Market in Jaipur as a potential destination for local and foreign tourist entertainment and shopping, the Jaipur Development Authority (JDA) has decided tobuild a market at Jawahar Circle with some inspiration from Jodhpuri architecture. It is said to be modelled in a mix of traditional and modern design styles, in line with Delhis Connaught Place. Twelve developers....

IKian Furniture Pvt Ltd has recently launched a new range of sofas designed to offer an air of distinction to any interior space. The company deals in a wide range of furnitureoutdoor furniture, lifestyle furniture, contract furniture, sofas, beds, coffee tables, storage units and accessories. Established in Bangalore in 2003, IKian Furniture now has branches in the cities of Hyderabad and Chenna....

At a time when the worst forcommercial real estate seems to beover and recovery is visible, it isimportant to examine how it willcome about and analyse what this means forthe future. For several stakeholders, it is aboutunderstanding the changes in the structure andcomposition of the market, and how they canfine-tune their business models to ensure theirlong-term survival and growth. This study b....

The construction industry in India hasseen considerable growth dueto the advent of globalisation.Simultaneously, it has also seen anincrease in the incidents of physical suffering,fatalities, disabilities, property damages andill-health resulting from construction activities.Construction is a highly accident-prone industryand accidents in construction are about threetimes more frequent than in ma....

The last two years have been verychallenging for the constructionindustry the world over. The globaldownturn and recession took its tollon this industry, too. In such trying times,innovation and differentiation are the keys tosurvival, and adding that extra value forconsumers could be the way out of this gloom formany developers. Can technology, specificallymobile technology, play that role?As fo....

The application of prefabrication indocumented construction history tookform as early as 1579, with the executionof the Nonesuch House on LondonBridge. The four-storey prefabricated structure wasoriginally constructed in the Netherlands, thenentirely dismantled and shipped to London, whereit was later reassembled with the help of precisemarkings. What may have been regarded asextravagant back the....

Todays bathroom is a versatile spacethat serves multiple functionsfromrejuvenation at the beginning of theday to relaxation at the end of it.Todays homeowners have very high standardsregarding the design and utility of theirbathrooms. If the modern bathroom fittingsindustry is succeeding in living up to theseexpectations, it is due to ever-evolvingtechnology that packs more into less, andprovides....

Professional facility management as aconcept and service has evolved overthe years and continues to do so, buthas yet to reach its maturity stage.Visibility is increasing, but awareness still lags farbehind. Even those from the industry use thisterm loosely to imply a range of services likesecurity, housekeeping, technical maintenanceand even manpower management. Thus, it isnot uncommon for peopl....

Affordable housing has emergedas one of the most celebratedcatchphrases in the constructionsector. While the concept has beenaround for some time, the point truly struckhome as the real estate property bubble burst,prompting increased demand for housing whichis lighter on the buyers pocket. In the absence ofan acceptable product mix and with mountingpressure on housing infrastructure due todevelo....

Last year, 68-year-old SM Mahalingamand his wife Krishna decided to selltheir four-bedroom house in Kondhwa,Pune and move to Athashri, aretirement community in Pashan. The reasonwas simple. Their two children had married andmoved out. The upkeep of the apartment wastoo much for them and property taxes wereputting an unnecessary strain on their savings.What better option than moving to a retiremen....

Based in Bengaluru, India, Idicon SpaceDesigns is a full-service architecture anddesign firm. Since its launch in 1998,the company has served a wide range ofclients, undertaking corporate, residential andcommercial projects. The company also provideslandscaping, retail design, urban planning andproject management services.Idicon employs a staff of 20 architects,designers, engineers and project ma....

Retreat is a model sustainable habitat,part of The Energy and ResearchInstitutes (TERI) Gual Paharicampus, about 30 km south of Delhi,in the northern state of Haryana. The beautifullylandscaped 36-hectare site, including a gardenthat features prize-winning roses, is livingtestimony to TERIs research. Nine years ago,the site was barren. The land was not leveled,the topsoil was badly eroded and not....