Finance & Funding

A series of road upgrades is planned for Mindanao in the Philippines. A loan worth US$380 million from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help pay for the works. In all, the programme of road upgrades will cost $498 million however. Eight roads in Zamboanga Peninsula totalling 277km will be upgraded along with three bridges in Tawi-Tawi Province that will be improved.

Italy saw sales of earth moving machinery climb 15% last year over that for 2016, according to Unacea, the Italian equipment association. In 2017, 12,275 earth moving machines were sold, up 15% on a year-on-year basis, while road equipment grew by 5%, with 491 units. Total sales were 12,766.

The Czech Republic is setting out its programme to develop its road infrastructure network. The plans call for work to build 360km of roads and highways as well as maintaining existing stretches. The construction plans include work on the Prerov section of the D1 highway, a stretch of the D40 from Hulin to Frystak, the Hodejovice section of the D3 highway and the Frydek-Mistek by-pass. They also include work to two sections each of the D35 highway and D11 highway as well as a number of bypasses for the D6

Caterpillar has announced strong fourth-quarter and full-year results for 2017. Sales and revenues in the fourth quarter of 2017 were US$12.9 billion, compared with $9.6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2016. Fourth-quarter 2017 loss was $2.18/share, compared with a loss of $2/share in the fourth quarter of 2016.

An upgrade is planned for the road connecting Uganda with Kenya at the Suam-Bukwo-Kapchorwa border crossing. The majority of the project costs will be paid for by a loan package worth US$94.5 million being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB). The remaining $11.2 million needed for the work will be paid by the Ugandan Government. The project should take 36 months to carry out and will involve improving the 118km road that runs from Kapchorwa in Uganda to Kitale in Kenya.

Swiss cantons Lucerna, Vaud e Neuchâtel have plans to spend €1.86 billion developing the local road network. The budget and the programme of works have yet to be fully approved. Meanwhile the Swiss Government has plans to spend €11.5 billion on developing the road network across the country by 2030. This will form the basis of Switzerland’s strategic national road improvement programme. Road maintenance will also benefit from a national budget of €6.9 billion for the time period from 2020 to 2023.

Construction work will commence soon on Nepal’s Naubise-Nagdhunga road tunnel project. The final design for the 2.6km link has yet to be approved. Funding for the project is being provided by a loan from the Japanese Government. The project is being built by the contractor Nippon Koei and is expected to cost US$176.1 million.

In Germany North Rhine-Westphalia is planning a major programme of road repairs and maintenance works. Upgrading and widening work will also be carried out. A massive budget of €20 billion has been set for the work, which will be carried out on the key Autobahn and Bundesstrasse (highway and key trunk route) links in the area. In all, 200 projects are being planned for the state.

Construction and maintenance of roads in France is expected to grow again this year – by 3% - after several years of decline, according to CISMA. Aggregates production is also expected to be up around 3.5%, as well as civil engineering by 3%. Civil Engineering activity is recovering at last, notes CISMA, especially thanks to work in the Paris area. “Across the country, cities large and small have adopted the construction of modern tramways that has led to improved traffic circulation, more convenient