Self-driving cars are still years away, but technological advances are making vehicles safer and more personalized right now. Here’s what that means for the industry. If you’re on the streets of Northern California in the next few months, you might pass a tiny car that looks like a smiling kid’s toy. It may be cute or creepy, depending on your perspective, but to some it’s a vision of the future: a Google-made, self-driven car ...
Surfside Collapse – what we know so far: On Thursday, June 24, 2021, at approximately 1:25 a.m., Champlain Towers South, a twelve-story beachfront condominium in the Miami suburb of Surfside, Florida, partially collapsed. The collapse was reported as the third deadliest structural engineering failure in United States history. Ninety-eight people were confirmed dead, only four people were rescued from the rubble ...
The Supreme Court (“Hof van Cassatie/Court of Cassation”) overruled on 26 May 2023 a decision that determined that Article 1722 (old) Civil Code (a partial or total “destruction” of the leased premises) does not apply for the tenant that can not operate its premises due to the measures taken by the Belgian Government in order to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, because there was only a temporary impossibility and thus only a temporary loss of enjoyment ...
An interesting news update has recently come up in the media, as the Serbian roads company "Putevi Srbije", and the Ministry of Construction, Transport, and Infrastructure – together with the representatives of the relevant institutions in Romania – announced that a contract on implementing a cross border project of building the Belgrade-Timisoara highway is due to be signed in the next two weeks ...
As you may well be aware of, the Manta Multipurpose Deepwater Terminal Concession project was awarded to Hutchison by November 17, 2006. I personally assisted Hutchison in the process, from the time immediately after tendering its offer to the time the concession agreement was executed. then, Hutchison took its own path and, eventually, the relationship between the Port Authority and Hutchison was over ...
The Ministry of Transport and Public Works (Ministerio de Obras Públicas y Transporte) of Ecuador, which is entitled of the management of the ports had issued the invitation to the public bidding process ...
After getting the knowledge of GPA Model and PPP Model, the bidders need to know how to make preparation during the pre-bid stage. Following are the responses to some most frequently asked questions regarding bidding qualifications, based on which the foreign bidders can make its preparation plan ...
Are bidders required to partner with a Taiwan company to participate in the bidding process? Foreign companies may participate in the bidding process on their own, so long as they meet the bidding qualifications. Most public engineering projects permit either bidding by a single company or by a joint bid. So long as a company is able to meet the qualifications for the procurement project, it may submit a bid on its own ...
On January 25, 2021, President Biden signed the Ensuring the Future Is Made in All of America by All of America’s Workers (Made in America) Executive Order, which not only directs that federal government purchases and procurement go to American businesses and workers, but also calls out the Jones Act for specifically endorsing the nation’s vessels, ports, and merchant crews ...
How retailers can harness technology to beat e-commerce at its own game. “It's official: Singapore malls are dead, as occupancy reaches its lowest level in 10 years,” screams one headline. “At some suburban malls, retailers confront the sound of silence,” another chimes in. As e-commerce takes hold, shoppers are eschewing brick and mortar in favour of the convenience of point and click ...
A North Carolina court has required Cincinnati Insurance Company to provide business interruption and extra expense coverage to 16 North Carolina restaurants that lost the use of and access to their properties due to COVID-19 civil authority orders (see North State Deli, LLC, et al. v. Cincinnati Insurance Co. et al.) ...
The new biodiversity net gain (BNG) requirements are set to come into force from November 2023. This will legally mandate securing a minimum 10 per cent biodiversity net gain from new commercial and residential developments in England, with a few exceptions. While the requirements - part of the Environment Act 2021 – will have financial and operational implications, the real estate industry has had several years to prepare for BNG ...
The government has confirmed its intention to establish eight new Freeports in Solent, East Midlands Airport, Felixstowe & Harwich, Humber, Liverpool City Region, Plymouth & South Devon, Teesside and Thames. In our latest Freeport bitesize briefing, we look at some of the potential commercial contracts and supply chain opportunities for businesses looking to operate in these Freeports. There are generous customs and taxation benefits within Freeport sites ...
On July 4, Board of Directors Resolution No. 00010-2020-OEFA/CD adopted the Regulation of the Electronic Box System of the Agency for Environmental Assessment and Enforcement (OEFA), regulating, among other aspects, the following: Mandatory use of the electronic box system to take notice of administrative acts and proceedings issued by the OEFA ...
In Appeal of Carothers Constr., Inc., the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (the “Board”) rejected the Government’s reliance on strict compliance with the material specifications for a 2 1/2″ thick roof deck product when the contractor proved the substitute 2″ thick roof deck was equivalent ...
The real estate market in Dubai has been making significant improvements in 2021 after the successful handling of the COVID-19 pandemic by the UAE. March 2021 had the highest number of transactions in 16 months as well as the highest number of secondary/ready properties transacted for foreigners in a single month since June 2015. This boom in sales resulted in record increases (23 per cent annual increase between April to June for luxury villas) ...
On Tuesday 7 February 2023, the Transport Secretary, Rt Hon Mark Harper, laid out his commitment to the rail industry for the first time during the George Bradshaw address. As it stands it was a huge night for rail, with the sector desperate for some clarity over what the next steps are in relation to a number of things ranging from the establishment of Great British Railways (GBR) through to where it will be based and visibility of work pipelines ...
Cryptocurrencies have captured the imaginations of individuals and emerging businesses drawn to their potential to serve as alternative stores of value, to reduce transaction costs by eliminating intermediaries. Most notably in popular culture and media - to provide eye-catching opportunities for speculative investing ...
An interesting point has arisen in an unopposed lease renewal case that considered whether a landlord’s break option should be included in a new lease, to allow the landlord to occupy the premises for the purposes of its own business. BMW sought renewal leases of its showroom at 70 Park Lane, London, which was let under four separate tenancies ...
Shoosmiths' Natalie Aldread explores two recent cases and their implications for break options and the renewal of a business tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 It is often assumed that where renewal of a business tenancy under the Landlord and Tenant Act 1954 has not been opposed, the bar is reasonably low to include a landlord’s break option in the new lease. Two recent cases do, however, indicate that this is not always the case ...
The UK is facing a veritable housing crunch. The gap between residential supply and demand continues to widen, and the current high interest rate environment is only serving to compound the issue – posing real challenges when it comes to funding and bringing much needed new schemes forward. One part of the residential market that is really feeling the strain of these supply constraints is the senior living sector ...
The UK ceased to be part of the EU customs union at 23:00 GMT on 31 December 2020. The UK is now considered by the EU to be a “third country” and as such VAT treatment of UK pleasure craft in EU waters and EU pleasure craft entering UK waters will be affected. This update seeks to outline the post-Brexit position on the payment of VAT for existing pleasure boat owners in the UK, and for those looking to dip their toes in the water this season ...
This article forms part of our ‘New How: Perspectives’ report: ‘Can real estate help solve the productivity puzzle?. To access this free report, please click on the download link to the right of this page. Traditional bricks and mortar retailers, occupying premises under long leases with upwards only rent reviews, can be forgiven for looking enviously at online retailers and their flexibility and comparatively low overheads ...
What follows is a cautionary tale for anyone involved who fails to follow a natural disaster preparedness plan. Taking short cuts and failing to follow agreed upon emergency preparedness plans are a recipe for disaster. While the litigation we analyze in this article stems from bridge construction in Florida, the lessons learned from this real situation are applicable all across the country ...
