It owns 55% of Leighton, which is such a successful construction company in Asia-Pacific that its market capitalisation is nearly twice that of its parent.

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Additionally, the growing construction industry in Asia-Pacific, particularly China, has driven growth in heating, ventilation and air-conditioning, and real estate service businesses of Johnson Controls.

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"This wouldn't have happened two or three years ago, " said Valerie Heller, region manager for commercial real estate in U.S. Bank's Pacific Northwest region, of the Idaho construction loan.

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In 1972, when Texaco completed construction of a pipeline to funnel oil to the Pacific coast, Ecuador instantly became the second-largest oil exporter in Latin America, after Venezuela.

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Construction of a new pipeline from East Siberian oilfields to the Pacific has begun.

ECONOMIST: Russia does not exactly soar in its Asian backyard

Brazil has also shied away from financing a South American development bank, but has enthusiastically worked to finance the construction of the Interoceanic Highway, a freeway that links Brazil to Pacific coast ports in Peru.

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The prospect of a bridge to Asia depends on the construction of three roads, each being built by Brazilian-led consortia, to connect Pacific and Atlantic Ocean ports.

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