Finance & Funding

A new highway stretch measuring 28km long is opening in Macedonia. The work has been carried out by the Greek contractor Aktor. The project has cost €227 million. The new highway section runs from Demir Kapija to Smokvica. Financing has been provided jointly by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), the European Investment Bank (EIB), a number of funds and also by Macedonia’s own budget. The completion of this section of highway now completes the route connecting the north and south of

Funding has been secured to pay for rebuilding work on the Transchaco road in Paraguay. A series of loans worth a total of US$560 million is paying for the rebuilding work. The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) is providing the bulk of the funding in the shape of a loan worth $400 million. Meanwhile the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is providing a loan of $160 million for the work.

A loan package from the World Bank will help pay for a major rural road programme in India. The US$210 million loan is being used for rural road development in Madhya Pradesh State. The upgrade work will see a total of 10,000km of gravels roads in Madhya Pradesh State being surfaced with asphalt, while a further 510km of new rural roads will be built in the state and will be surfaced with asphalt. This will be for the Madhya Pradesh Rural Connectivity Project.

A time extension has been offered to the consortium that will build Paraguay’s Ruta 2 and Ruta 7 highway projects. This extended period has been authorised by Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC). The highway contract is being handled by the Rutas del Este consortium, which is made up of the contractors Mota Engil, Ocho A and Sacyr. Originally the financing package for the highway deal was to have been in place by April 14th 2018. However the consortium’s deadline for the PPP

India’s Road Transport and Highways Ministry is working on plans for a new high speed road link connecting the capital, New Delhi, with the key economic and industrial centre, Mumbai. The route will form part of the country’s new highway network and is expected to cost in the order of US$15.3 billion to construct. In addition, another highway project has been proposed that will be linked to the planned New Delhi Mumbai route. The new inter-city highway will be tolled and will reduce travel times between New

Plans are being drawn up for a new road link that will connect Myanmar’s main deep-sea port of Dawei with neighbouring Thailand. The development of the new route is being approved by Thailand’s Neighbouring Countries Economic Development Cooperation Agency (Neda). The project is expected to cost US$144.2 million and the road will be around 100km long. A full finance package has yet to be finalised for the project but a series of loans are being sought. Once complete, the road will connect the port of

India’s Madhya Pradesh State is planning to improve connectivity to rural areas with a plan to improve rural roads. Funding for the work is being provided through a loan sourced from the Chinese Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The loan is worth some US$140 million and will help pay for surfacing work to existing gravel roads and dirt roads. In addition, a road safety programme will be instituted across the state, using a portion of the loan.

Funding for major infrastructure rebuilding work in Puerto Rico has now been secured. The US Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has provided a budget of US$135 million, which will be used to repair roads and bridges in Puerto Rico that were damaged by hurricane Maria. This budget should be sufficient to pay for 90% of the work needed. However the source of the remaining 10% of the infrastructure repair budget has yet to be announced.