Solving the world’s water problems is not going to be an easy task, but drought-hit Bitou Municipality in South Africa’s Western Cape is making an effort to relieve local water shortages through the construction of a new seawater desalination plant at Plettenberg Bay.

Amatola Water operates over an area of approximately 47,500 square kilometres in the central region of South Africa’s Eastern Cape province. Its vision is to extend that to the entire province; and it has taken long strides towards this goal.

Caterpillar is in the clear to acquire mining equipment manufacturer Bucyrus International, after approval Friday from the Ministry of Commerce of the People's Republic of China (MOFCOM).

The United States Department of Justice cleared the transaction in May, and the MOFCOM clearance is the last major regulatory requirement needed for the acquisition to be completed. The deal, valued at approximately $8.8 billion (including net debt), is expected to close shortly.

Dutch construction company Ballast Nedam has signed an agreement to design and construct the Carolina Bridge across the Suriname River in South America.

The agreement was made with the Ministry of Public Works of Suriname.

The existing bridge, which crosses the river 50 kilometres south of the country’s capital Paramaribo, is currently unusable due to its state of disrepair.

The Suriname River is 480 kilometres long.

Pittsburgh-based TMS International Corp, through its subsidiary Tube City IMS Corporation, has won its first contract in the Middle East and has also announced a further expansion in France.

A leading provider of outsourced industrial services to steel mills around the world, Tube City IMS has secured new contracts worth over $84 million in revenue over the life of the contracts at expected production levels.

The long-term contracts are for a variety of outsourced services at steel mills in Dunkerque, France, and Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

TRW Automotive has announced plans to expand its electrically powered steering systems facilities in Poland, in support of growing demand from a range of vehicle manufacturers.  

Approximately 9,000 square meters of additional manufacturing space will be established in Bielsko Biala close to the existing site in Czechowice-Dziedzice. Production will start in the first quarter of 2012. Initially, 250 new jobs will be created.

Detroit-based energy company DTE Energy is to install a photovoltaic system on the roof of a high school in Michigan as part of its $100 million SolarCurrents program.

DTE Energy and Mercy High School in Farmington Hills have signed a 20-year agreement that will provide the utility's customers with renewable solar energy.

The 400-kilowatt, $2.5 million photovoltaic system will be installed using 125,000 square feet of roof space at the high school. The solar array should be operational this fall after design and construction is completed.

The news that Bombardier is to shed 1,400 jobs from its Derby train factory has unleashed a storm of protest in the UK.

After the UK government awarded a £1.4 billion contract for 1,200 carriages for the Thameslink project to German rival Siemens, Bombardier said it does not have sufficient orders to keep the plant running at its present level.

By the end of September Bombardier will have finished work on two existing contracts, and have only one remaining.

NASA's DISCOVER-AQ air quality field campaign takes to the skies over the Baltimore-Washington traffic corridor and northeast Maryland on Tuesday, July 5, from 5:30 am to 1:30 pm local time.

The flight is part of a mission to enhance the capability of satellites to measure ground-level air quality from space.

Bahrain International Airport (BIA) is to begin a new expansion program that is expected to increase the airport's capacity by 50 per cent.

"The plans we are initiating for an expanded international airport are essential to Bahrain's continued development, not only in providing businesses in Bahrain with the access they demand for the future, but also in bolstering the growing aviation and logistics industry in the kingdom," said Khalid Al Rumaihi, Chairman of the Bahrain Airport Company (BAC) in an interview with Arabian Business News.