Proposals for a four-runway airport in the Thames Estuary were unveiled yesterday by Lord Foster, the founder of UK architects Foster & Partners.

The Thames Hub would encompass a new flood barrier and river crossing, rail and shipping infrastructure and an international airport at the Isle of Grain in Kent.

The project was unveiled by Foster & Partners alongside planners and builders Halcrow and consultancy group Volterra.

The Bank of England has issued a new-style £50 note into circulation as of 2 November 2011.

The note features the renowned 18th century business partnership of entrepreneur Matthew Boulton and engineer James Watt.

UK engineering company Costain has been awarded a £400 million contract to redevelop London Bridge Station, it has been announced.

Under the terms of the contract from Network Rail, which is worth £400 million over a five-year period, Maidenhead, Berkshire-based Costain will carry out the detailed design and delivery of the project.

Global electronics manufacturing services company Sanmina-SCI Corporation today reported financial results for the fourth quarter and fiscal year ended 1 October 2011.

The San Jose, California headquartered company reported revenue for the fourth quarter of $1.70 billion, compared to $1.67 billion in the prior quarter and $1.69 billion for the same period of fiscal 2010.

Revenue for the year ended 1 October 2011 was $6.60 billion, up 4.5 percent compared to $6.32 billion for the fiscal year ended 2 October 2010.

Tullow Oil has agreed new production sharing contract (PSC) arrangements with the government of Mauritania and its joint venture partners, allowing it to progress exploration in the country.

Tullow said the deal would enable it to progress the appraisal and development of existing discoveries and pursue exploration in a new contract area covering 10,725 square kilometres, with Tullow as operator.

Boart Longyear, the global integrated drilling products and services provider, has announced a plan to expand Mine Water Services to Latin America, Europe, the Middle East and Asia Pacific.

Over the last 25 years, Boart Longyear Drilling Services has developed an effective reverse circulation method in North America, and has established the process within the industry while creating the most highly specialized crews in the world.

The UK’s Department of Energy and Climate Change has today given the go-ahead for two new power stations to be constructed in Yorkshire that together are expected to create over 1,000 jobs.

The two new plants will generate enough energy to power almost two million UK homes.

The first is Ferrybridge, a 108 MW multifuel power plant in Wakefield, representing an investment of £250 million by SSE Generation.

Colombia’s Ecopetrol has announced a hydrocarbon discovery in its Logan 1 well in the US Gulf Coast.

Ecopetrol’s US subsidiary Ecopetrol America Inc. has a 20 per cent interest in the project, with Norway’s Statoil the operator.

The Logan 1 well is the first discovery with Ecopetrol's participation, through its US subsidiary, in one of the regions of the world with the greatest hydrocarbon potential, the company said.

Spanish solar-PV power generator T-Solar has announced it is expanding with the construction of a further 61 MW in Peru and India.

The group, which already has over 230 MW under operation and construction in Spain, Italy, India and Peru, has just brought its first PV power plant in India online. The new 5 MW plant uses thin-film amorphous silicon panels produced in the company's Galicia factory.

The new plant is located near the city of Jodhupur, Rajasthan, from which it will be feeding 8.5 GWh a year into India’s national electricity grid.