Finance & Funding

A new report highlights the enormous economic potential for infrastructure in Latin America. According to the new report from analytics specialist GlobalData, the infrastructure sector in Latin America could reach a value of US$175.8 billion by 2020. The report suggests that the total value of infrastructure spending in Latin America will reach $142.5 billion in 2019. The report adds that anticipated growth will see infrastructure spending in Latin America hit $175.8 billion for 2020. GlobalData has made t

Completion of the Lagos to Ibadan highway upgrade in Nigeria will not occur until 2021. The improvement work was initially to have been delivered by 2017. However a string of delays to the work have resulted from insufficient funds and from contractors leaving the jobsite. The current Nigerian Government has now cleared the debts for the project. Around 50% of the highway upgrade has been carried out so far. The contractor Reynolds Construction Company is working on a section from the Sagamu Interchange to

A series of major road contracts have been awarded in Paraguay, although delays are being seen on one key link. The country’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) gave its approval for a series of road contracts to be awarded. These four packages are worth over US$136 million and are for18 different sections.

Progress is being seen in Bangladesh on the project for a new expressway connecting the capital Dhaka with the second city, Chittagong.

A loan from the World Bank will help pay for a series of road upgrades across Nepal. The US$133 million loan will be directed towards improving 12,412km of Nepal’s road network, including both major highways and secondary link roads. Also benefiting from the loan will be many of Nepal’s bridges. Maintenance work will be carried out to 90 bridges and safety measures will be improved on 180 bridges. Construction work will be completed on 92 bridges being built at present, while a further 115 existing bridges

Construction is commencing on a 4.4km stretch of the Southern Beltway in the US state of Pennsylvania. This forms part of a project for a 21km section of toll road, with its completion expected in 2022. The entire project is for the extension of the Southern Beltway from the Turnpike 576 terminus at US Route 22 in Robinson Township, to a new interchange with Interstate 79 at the Allegheny-Washington County line. The work is needed to boost capacity and improve transport, while cutting congestion for drivers

Funding from the World Bank will help with the development of Vietnam’s North-South Expressway project. The Vietnamese Government has sourced US$214 million for the project already from its own funds. The highway will stretch 654km across the country, speeding transport and helping develop trade and tourism. Because of the project’s scale, the work is being split into 11 separate stretches and should be complete by 2025.

Russia’s Kaliningrad enclave has set a budget of over US$180 million for road development during the 2019-2021 period. This will be used for maintaining and improving existing roads, as well as developing new links. Regional and municipal roads will benefit from the spending programme. Although Kaliningrad is itself Russian territory, it lies in between Poland and Lithuania and is separated from the rest of Russia.

Mexico’s Puebla State is to benefit from strong spending on road development work during 2019. Two major road projects will be carried out at a combined cost of US$159.4 million. One of the projects is for the development of the Izucar de Matamoros-Acatlan de Osorio road.

A major programme of road repairs has been set in Honduras. The new road infrastructure plan is for the 2018-2022 period and aims to improve and upgrade 96% of the country’s existing network. At present a mere 4% of the country’s 16,412km road network is considered satisfactory.