This Week's Top Five Stories in Construction

Construction Underway: Advancements on Rail Baltica

Rail Baltica has progressed to the next stage of its consolidated construction materials procurement, marking significant advancement in the years-long infrastructure development.

The initiative aims to create a connected and compatible system for a future high-speed railway network across the Baltic region.

The project could introduce new employment opportunities and improved connectivity across the Baltic states, whilst establishing modern rail infrastructure that aligns with European standards.

Understanding John Holland's Partnership with Ivalua

John Holland, a major construction and infrastructure provider, has selected Ivalua to transform its procurement operations.

As demand for efficient and resilient procurement increases across the construction sector, the company is implementing digital transformation to unlock new value, cost savings and supplier visibility in order to build resilience across its operations.

Q&A: Holcim's Kaziwe Kaulule on Sustainable Construction

The construction industry's shift toward circularity requires leaders who can bridge commercial growth with environmental imperatives. Managing Director, Kaziwe Kaulule, is driving this transformation at Holcim UK's aggregates and recycling division, where he's been advancing ambitious sustainability targets since joining in November 2023.

"I am passionate about people-first leadership, ensuring teams are empowered while driving high performance, commercial agility and environmental responsibility," Kaziwe explains. His approach combines workforce development with environmental goals, emphasising apprenticeships and inclusiveness initiatives.

Under his direction, Holcim UK is investing in recycling centres nationwide to process demolition waste at scale.

The strategy focuses on "transforming the aggregates industry through sustainability-driven growth, circularity, and innovation to meet customer's evolving needs."

How are Data Centres Supporting Local Construction Workers?

The expansion of AI infrastructure across the United States is generating significant construction employment as hyperscale data centre projects require extensive skilled labour and supply chain support.

As artificial intelligence demand accelerates, the construction sector is seeing major opportunities in the development of large-scale data centres. These projects require substantial construction workforces and create ripple effects through local supply chains and service providers.

Josh Pitcock, Senior Vice President of Government Affairs at Oracle, argues that modern AI data centres represent complex technology campuses requiring skilled workers across multiple phases.

Inside AirTrunk's US$1.2bn Major Construction Opportunity

AirTrunk has secured a JP¥191.6bn (US$1.2bn) green loan to refinance and expand its TOK1 hyperscale data centre campus in East Tokyo, marking the largest data centre financing completed in Japan.

The funding represents a significant construction and infrastructure development opportunity as the country addresses growing demand for digital facilities.

The hyperscale data centre operator will use the loan to refinance existing facilities and support the next phases of development at TOK1, which is designed to scale to more than 300 MW of capacity.