Finance & Funding

Nepal’s Kathmandu-Tarai highway now looks likely to be built under an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract. This is a revision from the build-own-operate-transfer (BOOT) model previously suggested. Nepal's Ministry of Physical Infrastructure and Transport has announced the change for the project, which had an estimated cost of US$1.04 billion when put forward in 2015. The detailed project report (DPR) for the highway is likely to be set out by consortium, from India. The Nepalese Governm

Brazilian contractor Odebrecht is facing serious issues with regards to projects in Colombia and Peru. In Colombia the contract to build the Ruta del Sol II highway, at present 54% complete, is being terminated. Odebrecht is one of the partners in the The Consorcio Estructura Plural Promesa de Sociedad Futura Concesionaria Ruta del Sol consortium that was carrying out the contract. The consortium partners have also agreed not to claim for any compensation. In Peru meanwhile there is increasing pressure

Approval has been given for the construction of a new road tunnel in the German town of Starnberg. The €162 million road tunnel project is intended to cut congestion in the town centre but has been the subject of some controversy. The German Federal Government has agreed to a portion of the project’s costs, with the remainder coming from the Bavarian State as well as the local government. Starnberg, located some 30km south west of Bavaria’s capital Munich, is reputed to be the wealthiest town in Germany, so

Revisions to a bypass project in Slovakia will help reduce the construction costs. The Prešov bypass is now being built with just two lanes, which will cut the construction costs by some€200 million. The project was initially expected to cost as much as €900 million and was criticised for its expense. Further plans for a tunnel at the northern end of the bypass are being discussed at present. Meanwhile revisions to the traffic system in Prešov are expected to bring further savings to the construction projec

A loan from China will help pay for work on a major highway project in China. The US$326 million loan is being supplied by the Exim Bank of China. This will help pay for Jamaica’s Southern Coastal Highway Improvement Project. The funding will also help pay for the extension of the tolled east-west highway from May Pen, Clarendon to Williamsfield, Manchester. In all the highway work is expected to cost $384 million, with Jamaica paying for the remainder from its own budget.

UK exports and imports of construction and earthmoving equipment saw fluctuations in demand during 2016 according to the Construction Equipment Association (CEA). The latest CEA report shows that UK exports of construction and earthmoving equipment showed a modest increase in the fourth quarter of 2016. However the sales ended the year at 1.8% lower than 2015 in weight terms (tonnage of machines), and 7.4% lower in value terms. The USA remained the top destination for exports, but saw reductions of over 20%

Construction of the Kinmen Bridge in Taiwan has now been resumed, with work having restarted on the project in late 2016. The bridge will be 5.4km long in all and will have a 1.05km long main section, connecting the islands of Greater Kinmen and Little Kinmen (also known as Lieyu). The project includes building approach roads for the bridge as well as cuttings and connecting ramps. Costing US$292 million and with funding being provided jointly by Taiwan’s Government and the local authorities, the bridge is

Nearly 56,000 bridges in the US are listed as structurally deficient List, according to new analysis of Federal Data by American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). An analysis of the US Department of Transportation’s (US DOT) recently-released 2016 National Bridge Inventory data finds cars, trucks and school buses cross the nation’s 55,710 structurally compromised bridges 185 million times/day. About 1,900 are on the Interstate Highway System. State transportation departments have identifie

In Paraguay the government is setting up plans for rebuilding Ruta 9, the Transchaco road. Negotiations have been held with regard to funding with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). A loan worth US$160 million from the IADB will help fund the work. Funding for the project will also be provided by the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF).

The project to build Turkey’s new 1915 Cannakkale Bridge is gathering pace, with construction work expected to commence shortly. The tender for the project was won by a contracting consortium comprising construction companies coming from Turkey and South Korea. The Turkish contractors in the consortium are Yapi Merkezi and Limak while the South Korean companies are SK and Daelim and this project team was awarded the deal due to the short construction period required. The bridge will span the Dardanelles Str