A $33 billion high-speed rail line connecting two of the world's largest cities made its debut on 30 June. The Beijing-to-Shanghai high-speed train has been operating on a trial basis since May, and is finally ready to open to the general public, reported constructiondigital.com. This line is expected to help improve China's overloaded transportation system. The country has been pursuing several large-scale infrastructure projects to help cut down on airport delays and cancellations. However, the entrance of the new high speed rail line has led some airlines to slash ticket prices by as much as 65 percent amidst concerns that the new rail line could cause a negative effect on the air travel industry. One-way tickets prices will range from US$ 63-270 compared to about US$ 200 for a flight on an airplane between Beijing and Shanghai. This new high-speed rail line is opening a full year ahead of schedule despite delays in construction as a result of safety concerns. Construction began in April 18, 2008. Once operational, the new Shanghai-to-Beijing line will cut the travel time between the two cities in half to under five hours. The rail line will be capable of carrying about 80 million passengers a year, twice the current capacity for the 1,318 kilometre route. The line carries 90 pairs of trains every day, including 63 pairs that run at 300 kilometers per hour, which can reach the terminal in 4 hours and 48 minutes, and 27 pairs that travel at 250 kilometers per hour, which can reach the terminal in 7 hours and 56 minutes.

Last week California's Governor Jerry Brown was joined by U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar for the ground breaking ceremony of the world's largest solar thermal facility near Blythe, California, reported constructiondigital.com. Once construction is completed, the site will feature four solar thermal power plants with a total generating capacity of 1,000 megawatts of electricity. This would be enough energy to power 800,000 (corrected by construction.am according to the US Energy Department data) American homes using a clean, domestic source of fuel. Blythe Solar will cover about 7,025 acres of land. Governor Brown praised the solar power plant as a key step toward his goal of building a green economy of the future in California."We're going to be the world leader in solar energy," Brown said during the groundbreaking ceremony. Preparations for the facility have been underway since 2010, with early work already being done on the first two solar power plants that will be able to generate 242 megawatts of electricity. The first two plants are expected to be operational and connected to California's power grid by 2014. In April the Blythe solar project received a loan guarantee of $2.1 billion from the US Federal Financing Bank. The total projected cost of the project is expected to reach about $2.8 billion. The facility is being built by the Solar Trust of America and the Solar Millennium Group, two of the world's top producers of solar thermal technology. The Solar Millennium Group built the first operational parabolic trough power plants in Europe. Parabolic trough is the only type of solar technology that has been proven since the 1980s to be able to produce enough electricity for commercial use in large power plants.

A major European financial services company warned that signs point to China's recent construction boom hitting a wall soon. French investment bank Societe Generale released a report warning that demand for construction services and products was softening, signaling a potential downturn after a year of substantial growth, reported constructiondigital.com. "We believe the current pace of construction activity is unsustainable and a painful adjustment will come sooner or later," an analyst for Societe Generale stated. Among the signs that Societe Generale pointed to in its reports was sales for excavators, which had fallen by 65 percent in May compared to the same month last year. Bulldozers and loading equipment also took a dip compared to May 2010. The report also stated that China's cement consumption was unsustainable and outpaced healthy levels. The country accounted for 55 percent of the world's cement consumption during 2010. Societe Generale believes China is setting itself up for a construction bubble that won't last. Last year China's construction industry received a huge boost in the housing sector as members of the rural population moved into cities. Across China about 1.8 billion square meters of new apartments and condos were built, enough room to house 60 million people. Construction in 2011 has the country on pace to add housing for an additional 300 million residents by 2015, including 36 million units of affordable housing as part of the government's five-year plan. According to the International Monetary Fund's estimates this amount of housing would match China's projected urban needs in 2030, meaning the country is building more housing over the next four years than it will need in the next two decades.

Today, on June 28, the construction of Kamengrad (Stone Town), a brainchild of a famous Serbian film director Emir Kusturica launched. As Mr. Kusturica lately presented his project during press conference in Belgrade, the Town will be built in the Bosnian town Visegrad and construction is going to take about 4 years. Kamengrad will be situated near the stone bridge over the River Drina, which was built in XVI century. Now this bridge is one of the major tourist attracions in Bosnia And Herzogovina and it was listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It is assumed, that after completion Kamengrad will become a decoration to the future Kusturica film on the novel by Nobel Prize winner Ivo Andric "Bridge on the Drina". The novel covers more than four centuries, since the time of flowering of the Ottoman Empire, when the Bosnian territory was part of it, and before the beginning of XX century. According to Kusturica, it is assumed that Kamengrad will be built on the area of 25 thousand square meters with 14.5 thousand square meters of building area. The town will consist of stone houses, churches, a city hall, a hotel, a theater, shops, markets, restaurants and a small marina. The cost of construction of the city is estimated at 10-12.5 million euros. The project mainly will be funded by Kusturica, but authorities of Bosnian Serb Republic will also support it. During Belgrade's press conference president of Bosnian Serb Republic Milorad Dodik stated, that this project will breathe new life to Visegrad. Kusturica has an experience in projects like Kamengrad. Several years ago he built ethno village Drevnegrad (wooden city) in Mokra Gora region of Serbia. Emir Kusturica is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician. He was born 24 November in 1954 in Sarajevo. He is a two-time winner of the Palme d'Or at Cannes (For "When Father Was Away on Business" and "Underground"), as well as being Commander of the French "Ordre des Arts et des Lettres".

As reported by news.am, government financed provided $US 3.52 million for construction and renovation works in Shirak Region. The government always held a tender for road and school reconstruction works as well as for roofs of some residential buildings in Gyumri and Shirak Region. Particularly in Gyumri government program include reconstruction of Sevyan and Lisinyan roads, roof renovations for some residential buildings in blocks Ani and Bulvarayin and for the third Handicraft College. In Shirak Region works include reconstruction of some schools and educational Institutions. Renovation works have already begun in Gyumri school #15 and will end till September. The total budget for this school renovation is about $US 133,300.