Finance & Funding

Projects to improve historic tunnel and bridge links are now progressing in Germany after some delays. These are for the refurbishment of the old Elbe Tunnel in Hamburg and a bridge upgrade in Cologne. Stretching some 426m, the Old Elbe Tunnel runs from the St Pauli area on the north of the River Elbe to the port area in the south. Opened in 1911 the twin tube tunnel is of historic value, even though its importance for vehicle traffic is now comparatively minor following the opening of a new road tunnel in

Laos is seeking funding assistance from sources in Thailand to help pay for a 1.35km bridge project spanning the Mekong River to connect the two countries.

Colombia's future 4G road programme now includes a new project, to provide a new link from Popayan to Santander de Quilichao. The three month consultation process has been completed and the steps needed for an environmental license to be awarded are now underway. Should all continue to go to plan, construction of the 77km link should commence in August 2018, although a target for the completion date has yet to be announced.

Topcon Corporation has acquired all the outstanding shares of ClearEdge3D for an undisclosed sum. This deal adds a technology leader in the engineering and construction software industry to Topcon’s portfolio. ClearEdge3D’s EdgeWise software is intended to speed as-built modeling workflows by utilising automated feature extraction algorithms and other patented technologies. Its Verity construction verification software compares laser scan point cloud data of recently completed construction work against

Polish contractor Budimex has won a tender to build a 20km-long section of the S61 dual carriageway in Poland. The section runs from the Wysokie junction to Raczki, the national highways authority GDDKiA announced. Budimex bid just over €484 million for the 29-month design-build contract. Last summer, the Italian contractor Impressa Pizzarotti picked up a deal for 24km of the S61 from Suwalki to the border with Lithuania for around €144.6 million, according to media reports. The S61 is part of the

Norway’s public roads administrator - Statens Vegvesen – said it will invest €13.8 billion in new roads over the next six years. The investment is part of the national transport plan - Nasjonal Transportplan. The Administration states that it will require about €4.3 billion in tolling fees, excluding other tolling fees from projects headed by Norwegian road construction company Nye Veier. Terje Moe Gustavsen, road director at Statens Vegvesen, said that around €3 billion will be earmarked for environment

Bosnia’s autonomous Republika Srpska has picked China Shandong International and Technical Cooperation to construct and operate the Banja Luka-Prijedor motorway. Talks with China Shandong start this month for the 25-30 year concession for the 42km motorway. The company will fund construction and then collect tolls as part of repayment, according to media reports. The cost is estimated to be around €298 million and construction finish is expected to be in 2023. In November, Autoputevi RS, Republika Srpska

Major road and tunnel development plans are being set out in Austria. The country’s road traffic management business, ASFINAG, has set a budget of €1.1 billion for new works to be carried out during 2018. A planned 50% of the budget will be utilised for building new roads or for tunnel works. The remaining 50% will be used to pay for necessary road repairs and maintenance works. In addition, Asfinag has set a budget of €100 million to introduce the latest toll collection systems.

Rural roads in Nepal look set to benefit from an upgrade programme, with partial funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Nepalese Government has set out plans for its Rural Connectivity Improvement Project, which targets upgrade work for 388km of rural roads. These links will be surfaced and financial support of US$100 million for the work will be sourced from the ADB.

The names of the contractors offering bids for the new Agua Negra Tunnel project connecting Chile and Argentina will be revealed in March 2018. Several firms have already expressed a keen interest in this major engineering project. Contractors that have expressed interest include CRS, a consortium comprising China Railway Tunnel Group and Benito Roggio e Hijos. In addition, Ingenieria y Construccion Sigdo Koppers and OHL are also interested in the project as are the firms Rovella and Condotte. The project