2018 Winter Olympics

Pyeongchang and their hope for the 2018 Winter Olympics continue. Selected as the host of 2018 Winter Olympics, the Korean city of Pyeongchang, is more than ready with their infrastructure development plan and their stadiums. The city has invested more than 1 billion dollars in the Aplensia Cluster, the center of the game and where the majority of events will take place.

Pyeongchang government has also completed seven(six on snow, one on the ice) out of 13 Olympic stadiums. The two-hour trip from the Incheon airport to the 2018 Olympic's Village will be cut in half, a 70 minutes trip, with their new high-speed rail line, which will run at a speed of 250 km per hour . Infrastructure improvements are being executed all over the city, upgrading roads, stadiums and other utilities. All stadiums are being built within half an hour drive from Pyeongchang.

Other major projects include construction of a bobsleigh and luge track in PyeongChang and the construction of a downhill venue. Construction of a double subway track line between Wonju and Gangreung, the second Yongdong expressway, and the expansion of the national highway No.59 are currently in the works all part of the improvements related to the 2018 Winter Olympics.

See more about London 2012 Olympic Stadiums.

Phoenix Green Construction Code

Starting from July 1, 2011, The city of Phoenix is being ruled by a Green Construction Code that will promote safe, sustainable and energy-efficient construction. This new construction code can be used to achieve green certification trough the city's Planning Board. The Phoenix Green Construction Code provides a series of pre-requisites that the builder must complete in order to be certified by the Phoenix City.

This new Green Code will be able to certify construction projects with a green standard (bronze, silver, gold or emerald) based on their performance and sustainability. This process will allow residential and commercial projects, new or existing, to be certified without having to pay third-party fees for certifications.

The Phoenix Green Code adoption was created by amending the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) for commercial and the National Green Building Standard for residential construction, to specific Phoenix requirements. Under the IGCC a commercial building can only get one type of certification, while the NGBS offers four levels of certifications that will be used to certify residential construction. For example, builders can get incentives for installing new HVAC systems, high performance windows and energy-efficient water heaters.

The Phoenix Green Construction Code will try to:

• Reduce construction waste material from landfills.

• Encourage the reduction of the building's footprint.

• Improve indoor air quality.

• 20%, mandatory reduction of indoor water use.

• 15% mandatory reduction of energy use.

• Require that at least 2% of building's annual electrical use be produced by renewable energy methods.

• Encourage the implementation of green roofs, brown roofs and reflective roofs.

These codes and the Phoenix Amendments are available for review by clicking here.

The US Department of Transportation is releasing more than $1.5 billion for 27 projects that will improve US transportation infrastructure. This announcement is intended to reduce the oil dependency and to increase air quality levels.

This program is also targeting the creation of new jobs and increase economic development on the impacted regions. The program provides for federal support for major capital construction projects directly related to transportation services.

Some of this projects are:

• Long Island Rail Road East Side Access-Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is constructing a new, direct 3.5-mile commuter rail extension from LIRR's Main and Port Washington Branch Lines in Long Island and Queens, to Grand Central Terminal (GCT) on Manhattan's East Side.

• University Link LRT Extension Seattle, Washington-The Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit) is constructing an extension to the Central Link light rail transit (LRT) Initial and Airport Link Segments from the Segment's northern terminus at Westlake Station in downtown Seattle to the University of Washington, 3.1 miles to the northeast.

• Dulles Corridor Metrorail Project (Extension to Wiehle Avenue Northern Virginia)-The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), in cooperation with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA), is constructing an 11.7-mile extension of the region's Metrorail system from west of the existing East Falls Church Metrorail station through the large Tysons Corner employment and retail center to Wiehle Avenue in the Reston area of Fairfax County. The 11.7-mile extension is the first phase of a proposed 23.1-mile extension of Metrorail west to Dulles International Airport and Loudoun County.

• The Mid-Jordan LRT is a 10.6-mile southwestern extension of the Utah Transit Authority's. The project scope includes nine new stations, 3,035 park-and-ride spaces, and 28 low-floor light rail vehicles

• The City of San Bernardino is proposing to construct a bus rapid transit (BRT) project along E Street in San Bernardino. The proposed RT project would provide a dedicated bus travel lane through the majority of the corridor connecting California State University at San Bernardino (CSUSB), downtown San Bernardino, the City of Loma Linda, the Loma Linda University Medical Center and the VA Hospital, where the project would terminate

• The Capital Metropolitan Transportation Authority (CMTA) proposes to construct a bus rapid transit (BRT) system along two interconnected corridors: the 21-mile North Lamar/South Congress Corridor and the 16.5-mile Burnet/South Lamar Corridor. The project includes a real-time passenger information system, traffic signal priority and the purchase of 40 low-floor, multi-door, branded vehicles.

The scope of projects was provided by FTA website.

Invitation for Pre-Qualification

The Hong Kong International Airport is looking for qualified contractors who can participate on the development of a new passenger concourse. This contract calls for the construction of the Midfield Concourse, a multi-level building, with a large clear open span steel truss roof, extraordinary high finished and full building services. Contractors shall possess airport systems experience and experienced contractors in major multi-billion and multi-disciplinary infrastructure projects, including civil, structural, architectural, electrical and mechanical works.

This Midfield Concourse is designed to provide at least 100,000 square meters of floor area and 20 bridged stands. Other related works include taxiway pavement, ancillary buildings, utilities services and the extension of the Automatic People Mover tunnel to this new Concourse and the South Runway Road underpasses and ramps.

Bid invitations are expected to be issued in October 2011 to qualified contractors, and the project is intended to be awarded on 2012. The estimated duration of the project is about 36 months.

More information can be obtained by emailing richard.ho@hkairport.com or by fax to Mr. Kevin Poole, General Manager, (852) 2188 1513.

The deadline for submission of the completed Pre-qualification Questionnaire will be on 14th July 2011 at 14:30 (Hong Kong time).

Learn how to answer a request for proposals

Avoid These Bidding Mistakes

Contract Basics

_{Photos by bortescristian}