Construction technology review in east countries

Construction technology review in east countries

If you're a construction contractor or rental company looking to buy a new excavator in Europe or the US at the moment, no matter which brand you go for, the chances are it will be a Stage IIIB/Tier 4 Interim machine.
Over the last 18 months there have been numerous new excavator and sand launches in Europe and North America in response to Stage IIIB (Europe) and Interim Tier 4 (US) regulations on exhaust emissions. The laws now apply to diesel engines from 56 kW to 560 kW, which translates to excavators from 10 tonnes to over 100 tonnes. The oil exporters of the Middle East are reaping the rewards of a sustained rise in prices, and this in turn is driving construction growth as governments channel the revenues into new projects. In fact, a total potential construction project pipeline worth US$ 172 billion is expected in Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) countries - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE) - this year, according to Standard Chartered and there are some clear hot spots emerging.
Those weight classes of course cover the most popular sizes of excavator used in the construction industry, particularly earth moving, quarrying and civil engineering applications. Machines light than this fall into the compact excavator category, and tend to be used on smaller-scale urban projects. Machines over 100 tonnes tend to be used for mining. In terms of projects awarded, Saudi Arabia will remain region's busiest market across all key sectors, from infrastructure to power and gas. Standard Chartered estimated that Saudi Arabia's share of the total pipeline would be around US$ 61 billion this year, with US$ 8.4 billion of projects already awarded since the beginning of the year.
It is not a foregone conclusion though. Flexibility provisions in the laws, which are designed to ease the transition for manufacturers, mean there are still 'old stage' machines, with the previous Stage IIIA/Tier 3 engines in them being sold. But as time goes on these machines will work their way through the supply chain to be replaced by the newer models.
A powerful engine of growth in the region, Saudi government spending on non-oil infrastructure projects is forecast to be +7% higher in 2012 than last year. Infrastructure spending under the Saudi government's 2012 budget allocates US$ 9.4 billion for transport, including projects to expand airports, and the construction of 4000 km of roads.