Finance & Funding

Work is now commencing on widening a stretch of the A3 Autobahn where it passes through the Bavarian city of Regensburg. The 15km section of the A3 will be widened from its present two lanes to three lanes. The project is costing €270 million and will be carried out on the section from the junction between the A3 and B8 at Rosenhof to the east of Regensburg and running 15km westwards, past the junction with the A93 Autobahn route that connects with the A9 and Munich to the south. This work is needed as the

The environmental study for the proposed Mwenda to Kashiba road project is now starting. Stretching 187km, the road project will improve the transport links between Zambia and Congo DR. The road project will cost an estimated US$475 million and will be carried out under the PPP model. The project includes the construction of a new bridge over the Luapala River, which forms much of the border between Zambia and Congo DR. In addition, a smaller bridge over the Luongo River in Zambia will also be built.

The German construction equipment industry is in the middle of a boom, according to data from the country’s equipment manufacturing body, the VDMA. A new report highlights that turnover and incoming orders saw a double-digit increase in 2017 and Germany manufacturers are starting 2018 with a high degree of optimism. According to the VDMA figures, the German construction equipment industry ended 2017 with turnover of €10.8 billion– an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. It is the fourth

An international consortium has been formed that will handle a major highway project in Kazakhstan. Worth US$730 million, the consortium’s contract is to build and operate a new tolled ring road around the capital, Almaty. The construction consortium comprises the Turkish contractors Alarko and Makyol, SK Engineering & Construction and Korea Expressway. The funding package for the project meanwhile is being provided jointly by the International Finance Corp and European Bank for Reconstruction and

Three road tunnels have been proposed as part of a highway project by the Myanmar Government. The tunnels would run through the Wa Ta Lone Mountain, Khauk Nwe Mountain 1 and Khauk New Mountain 2 in the Shan Mountains. The tunnels would form part of the project for the Taunggyi-Loilin road in Shan State. A study into the tunnels will be carried out by the Myanmar Government. Should the project go ahead, the tunnel through Wa Ta Lone Mountain would be built first as it is thought to be the most

Work is starting on an upgrade for a 100km stretch of road in Zambia. The route connects Nchelenge and Chiengi districts and will benefit from a new asphalt surface. The project is costing US$77 million and is being carried out by the contractor Sinohydro Zambia. Delays to the work have been caused by heavy rains however. The Zambian Government has paid an initial $3.8 million for the work to be carried out and the project is expected to take two years to complete.

Plans for the £1.6 billion Stonehenge Tunnel bypass in the UK have now been revised.

Brazilian road concession company Arteris is interested in acquiring a number of assets from Odebrecht Transport (OTP). The two road concessions currently managed by OTP that Arteris is showing interest in are the 851km Rota do Oeste network in Mato Grosso and the 297km Rota das Bandeiras road network in Sao Paulo. These are the biggest road concessions managed by OTP at present, as well as being the only two for which OTP has a 100% stake.