Finance & Funding

Almost €348 million will be needed for a 32km extension to Poland’s A2 motorway from Biala Podlaska to Terespol, near the border with Belarussia. A tender for a design and build contract is expected to be called in 2020. But funding is still not for certain under the National Road Construction Programme that looks at work until 2023. Recently, a €1.3 million contract was signed with Multiconsult Polska to prepare an investment plan. The A2 runs from west to east through central Poland, from the Pol

A new proposal for congestion charging in Los Angeles has been put forward as a possible solution to the city’s traffic woes. The CEO of the Los Angeles Metro system has suggested that a congestion charge for drivers could be used to allow riders to use the city’s transit system for free. Under the proposed scheme, drivers would be charged for entering certain districts of the city at peak travel periods. The proposal has been put forward as a way of smoothing out transport ahead of the 2028 Olympic Games.

Cambodia’s capital’s key connection construction contract is commencing. Work is now underway for the Phnom Penh ring road project. The new ring road will measure 53km long and funding for the US$273 million project is being provided jointly by the Cambodian Government and Chinese Government. Building the new ring road will take around 42 months and the new route should open to traffic in late 2021. The studies into the new route are being carried out by the Chinese specialist Guangzhou Wanan Construction S

Construction of the WestConnex project in New South Wales, Australia is facing criticism over a lack of accountability over the work. The US$11.85 billion (A$16.8 billion) project is intended to improve transport in and around the city of Sydney and involves building a 33km tolled motorway. The work is costly and complex, with much of the route being built in tunnels and this is Australia’s largest road project. However criticism has been levelled at the state government for not considering a number of opti

A new transport plan for Colombia’s capital, Bogota, is intended to cut congestion. The plans are being drawn up by Bogota council's Urban Development Institute (IDU). In all 75 separate works are included in the plan, ranging from building or upgrading 155km of roads to constructing 183km of cycle lanes. Of the 75 works outlined in the plans, the aim is for 20 to be complete by the end of 2019. The IDU estimates that the work will cost US$5.5 billion to carry out. Upgrades to the Avenida Ferrocarril shoul

Work on a new road and bridge project is planned to start in Myanmar during 2019 and is expected to take until 2022 to complete. The construction of this new link will improve transport connections with neighbouring China. The US$100 million project will be carried out in Myanmar’s Shan State, lying on the country’s eastern border with China. In all, the new bridge and road will run for 19.3km and will link Nawngcho with Gote Hteik. The existing road passes through a mountainous area along this stretch and

Work will commence soon on Indonesia’s South Cikampek II-Jakarta toll road project. The 64km highway project is benefiting from funding from the Bank Negara Indonesia, Bank Central Asia, and Bank Mandiri. These have each contributed US$91.06 million. In all, the project is costing $970 million. The project is being managed by Indonesian firm Jasamarga Japek Selatan.

Romania will open nearly 44km of new roads in 2019, including parts of the A1 Motorway between Deva and Lugoj. Also to be opened are an 8km stretch between Sebes and Alba Iulia Sud as well as an 18km section of the A3 Motorway between Chetani and Iernut. CNAIR – the National Road Management Infrastructure Company - estimates that drivers will be able to make use of 925km of high-speed motorways in Romania by the end of 2019, around 120km more than at present. Last summer, Romania’s transport minist