Articles by Becca Durrant

The Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) will provide US$ 400 million in new grants over the next two years to help Haiti in its national recovery plan following the January 12 earthquake.

Wacker Neuson recorded a € 110 million net loss for 2009 compared to the € 37 million annual profit recorded in 2008. The loss would have totalled € 2,9 million but for two, one-off payments of € 9,6 million for HR related restructuring costs and € 100 million in non-cash write-downs, mainly on goodwill attributable to the Neuson Kramer subgroup.

Volvo plans to build a US$ 40 million design and technology centre to focus on developing products and components especially for the BRIC markets.

Lend Lease has appointed Robert McNamara as CEO for its business in the US, reaffirming its "commitment to growth in this region."

Civil damage claims totalling € 108 million have been filed against leading elevator and escalator companies in Austria following the fines already imposed on them by the Austrian Cartel Court in 2007.

Hindustan Construction Company (HCC) is to acquire a controlling stake in Karl Steiner - a Swiss contractor that specialises in the development of new buildings and refurbishments.

HETCo, a joint venture between Ferrovial Agroman and Laing O'Rourke has signed a UK£ 800 million (€ 877 million) deal with BAA to head up construction of the new Terminal 2 at London's Heathrow Airport.

Hong Kong's MTR Corporation (Mass Transit Railway Corporation) has awarded an AU$ 463 million (US$ 423 million) contract to Leighton Asia to construct the Tse Uk Tsuen to Shek Yam section of the Guangzhou - Shenzhen - Hong Kong Express Rail Link (XRL).

New York, US-based engineering company Parsons Brinckerhoff (PB) is celebrating its 125th birthday.

Acciona Energy has won a € 450 million contract for the construction and operation of three wind parks totalling 306 MW in Oaxaca State, Mexico.

The design for the new International Criminal Court (ICC) headquarters in The Hague has been revealed by Scandinavian architect, schmidt hammer lassen (SHL).

The Australian construction industry expanded for a second consecutive month in February albeit at a slower rate compared to January, according to the latest Australian Industry Group/Housing Industry Association Performance of Construction Index.

Lend Lease has signed an agreement with the Barangaroo Delivery Authority to develop Stage 1 of the AU$ 6 billion (US$ 5 billion) Barangaroo mixed-use harbour-front site in Sydney, Australia.

Balfour Beatty reported a strong performance for the full year 2009 with pre-tax profits up +7 % to UK£ 267 million (€ 295 million) compared to the UK£ 249 million (€ 275 million) recorded in 2008. Group sales were up by +8 % to UK£ 8,9 billion (€ 9,9 billion) compared to the UK£ 8,3 billion (€ 9,1 billion) reached last year.

Holcim reported sales of CHF 21,1 billion (€ 14,4 billion) for 2009, a - 16% decline compared to the CHF 25,2 billion (€ 17 billion) recorded at the end of 2008. Operating profits were CHF 4,6 billion (€ 3,2 billion) in 2009, a -13,2 % fall compared to the CHF 5,3 billion (€ 3,6 billion) the previous year.

Construction has officially started on the US$ 247 million Interstate 15 (I-15) South Design-Build Project in Nevada, US.

Piling works have started at the Jean Nouvel-designed Louvre Abu Dhabi on Saadiyat Island, United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The design for the new US embassy in London has been revealed. The building on the south bank of the River Thames in Nine Elms is expected to cost € 369 million (UK£ 324 million).

Gammon Construction has won a HK$ 2.4 billion (US$ 309 million) contract to widen sections of the Tolo and Fanling highways in Hong Kong for the (Hong Kong Special Administrative Region) HKSAR Highways Department.

SOM designs an urban model that integrates solutions for energy, water conservation and transit systems in Beijing.