Finance & Funding

Major road improvement work is now being scheduled in Texas, for key sections of State Highway 67 and Interstate 35E. A budget of US$666 million has been set for the work. The work will form part of the new Southern Gateway project, due for completion towards the end of 2021.

Michigan Senate in the US is increasing its 2018 road upgrade budget by US$175 million. This comes in addition to the $600 million already budgeted for road upgrade works. Michigan has already set a road improvement budget for the 2019 fiscal year of $750 million. In addition the state has budgeted for a further $1.2 billion/year for roads in the future. This will be made available in 2021.

Nicaragua’s capital Managua is to benefit from a project to widen and upgrade the Pista Juan Pablo II road. Funding is being provide from a number of sources. The European Investment Bank (EIB) is providing US$136 million while the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) is providing $105.5 million. The council of Managua meanwhile will provide $33.4 million. The work will see upgrades to 9.55km of the route, which also includes building new flyover sections.

The first tender for construction of the Nis-Pristina motorway could be called by the end of his year, according to Zorana Mihajlovic, Serbia’s minister of construction. Value of the first phase of the project is estimated at €240 million. Around 20% of the amount will be financed from aid, while the remainder will be secured by the EBRD (European Bank for Reconstruction and Development) and the EIB (European Investment Bank).

Bosnia has signed a European loan agreement worth €750 million for several sections of work on the Corridor 5V motorway project. Denis Zvizdic, head of government for Bosnia and Herzegovina, said the deal was signed in London during a recent investment conference on the western Balkans. Of the loan amount, the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina will get €500 million and the internal but autonomous Republika Srpska will receive €250 million. The money will be used for constructing four 70km sections of

Financing worth US$238 million has been secured for planned road upgrades and improvements in Nicaragua. The funding comes in the shape of a loan from the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI). The upgrade works will be carried out to just over 194km of roads across the country. These works form part of the Nicaraguan Government’s VII Road Improvement and Renovation Programme. Meanwhile a further funding package worth $1.4 million from CABEI will help pay for various studies for Phase I of

Trinity Industries is setting out plans to spin-off its infrastructure-related businesses to Trinity stockholders. Scott Beasley, the currently the group chief financial officer (CFO) of Trinity’s Construction, Energy, Marine and Components businesses, will be the future CFO of the new infrastructure company upon completion of the spin-off. James E Perry, Trinity’s senior vice president and CFO, will remain in his current role with Trinity following completion of the planned spin-off. Perry joined Trinity

Tajikistan has plans to build 18 new highway bridges in its Gorno-Badakhshan region. This forms part of its strategy, ‘Strengthening of Critical Infrastructure for Protection from Natural Hazards’. Funding worth US$50 million for the programme is being provided by the International Development Association. The timeline calls for the bridge construction work to be complete by 2023.

The Central Expressway project in Sri Lanka is receiving funding from Japan, with a package worth US$940.7 million from the Tokyo Mitsubishi Bank of Japan. The contract meanwhile has been awarded to Japanese construction firm M/S Taisei Corporation. The firm will build a 32.5km section of the Central Expressway running from Pothuhera to Ramukkana and then to Galagedera.

The project to build the new highway link from Kenya’s capital Nairobi to the city’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) is now expected to cost US$579 million. This represents an increase of around $206 million from the pricetag originally expected for the link. This cost increase comes despite a substantial change in the design, with the route now featuring a series of flyover sections and underpasses, instead of being elevated along its 43.5km length as originally proposed. This redesign will