Finance & Funding

Tenders for two expressway projects in Thailand will open by mid-2018. The projects are worth around US$1.5 billion in all. The tender process is being handled by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat). Construction of one of the expressways should commence by late 2018 and the route would then be open to traffic by the end of 2021, if all goes to plan. The 10.5km expressway will connect the N2 Nawamin Road with the Kasetsart intersection and will be tolled, with a project traffic volume of 80,000

An improved road link will boost transport between Norway and Russia. The two countries have already spend around US$160 million to upgrade the road link that connection between the two. A 25km stretch is connecting Norway’s Sor-Varanger municipality with Russia’s Pechengsky District in the Murmansk Region. This is providing a shorter road route between Kirkenes in Norway and the important port of Murmansk in Russia and will help boost transport and trade between the two countries, as well as for Finland.

A loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) worth US$271.3 million will help pay for the construction of road stretches between Kurty and Burylbaytal as well as Uzynagash and Otar. Kazakhstan's state budget will provide a further $47.9 million for the works, with the road sections measuring 85km and 96km respectively and due for completion in 2021.

The ambitious road development programme set out by the Colombian Government may not meet all of its targets. The National Development Plan of 2014-2018 has set out plans for the completion of key road and highway connections, including several bridge and tunnel links. However, Colombia's National Infrastructure Agency (ANI) has so far attained 50% of the targets set out in its road development programme for the period.

A major road project in Sri Lanka will improve connectivity and will benefit from financing supplied by the World Bank. A loan worth US$125 million from the World Bank will help with funding for the road connecting Ja-Ela and Chilaw. The project for National Road A003 will also utilise a performance-related structure for the contractors carrying out the work. The firms working on the project will be paid on the quality of their performance rather than by the quantity of work carried out. It is not clear how

Foreign investors are playing a major role in funding work to develop Guatemala’s road infrastructure. For 2018, 74 of the projects being planned in Guatemala will be funded through foreign sources. However in all the Guatemalan Government has planned some 2.312 projects in all in its budget for 2018. Some US$131.85 million will be aimed at road works. Four projects are being planned to develop the road link connecting Alta Verapaz and Quiche. Another major road project being planned is for the CA-9 highway

Three road upgrades are being planned in Western Australia, which will improve safety and journey times for drivers, while cutting congestion at peak periods. Funding for the projects will be provided jointly by the Australian Federal Government and the Western Australia State Government.

The German federal government has set aside €4.5 billion for refurbishment of 400 bridges in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia up to 2027. Hendrik Wüst, North Rhine-Westphalia transport minister, made the announcement which included around €200 million for road maintenance. The Federal German government also plans to fast-track planning for infrastructure projects. Bonuses to contractors for improved performance to reduce down-time on construction sites as well as the possibily of a six-day working

Albania is pre-qualifying contractors for two major bypass projects, according to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. One is for construction of a 29km bypass of the southern Adriatic port city of Vlore with work expected to take 27 months. Vlore, with a population or around 130,000, is the country’s third largest city.