Finance & Funding

Zimbabwe’s Beitbridge to Chirundu highway link now looks set for a complete upgrade. The project has been planned for over 10 years but has faced a series of setbacks and delays, with funding having proved one of the biggest stumbling blocks in the past. The 897km highway runs from Beitbridge, located on the border with South Africa in the south of Zimbabwe all the way up to Chirundu, which is just over the border with Zambia in the north. The route includes part of the A4 highway in the south and the A1 hi

Two major highway projects are now moving forward in the Philippines. One is for the development of a highway stretch to connect the North Luzon Expressway and South Luzon Expressway. The other is for a new coastal road stretch close to Davao City. The US$485million North Luzon Expressway to South Luzon Expressway highway connection is being handled under a 35 year concession package. Metro Pacific Tollways (MPT) is investing $332 million in the project, which is being handled under the build-operate-tra

Work on one of Nigeria’s busiest highways, the A5 route connecting Lagos with Ibadan, is close to completion. Lagos and Ibadan are two of the largest cities in Nigeria and as the distance between the two is comparatively short at 128km, the highway carries heavy traffic. The tender process for the project was won by Julius Berger Nigeria in 2013, with the work being handled in two sections from Lagos to the Sagamu Interchange and from the Sagamu Interchange to Ibadan. Work on the project was halted temporar

Construction of the 5.6km stretch of the D3 motorway Cadca, Bukov - Svrcinovec in Slovakia could start by the end of the year. The tender was rolled out in May 2015 by the Slovak national motorway operator NDS and the final contract was recently signed for the €239million deal. Winners are the consortium of Hochtief from Germany and Austrian firms Strabag and PORR. Completion is schedule for 2020. Porr’s share of the contract is reportedly around €81 million and Strabag's around €105 million. Work inc

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways of India has announced the approval of 12 highway projects valued at nearly US$908 million. Projects are in the states of West Bengal, Maharashtra, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Goa, Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh. The project in West Bengal entails the four-laning of the Haldia from Kolaghat section of NH-41 in addition to the upgrade and rehabilitation of the Barhani-Kataya Chowk near the Shohratgarh section of NH-730. There are three projects in

A series of road development projects will now move ahead in India’s Karnataka State. Some US$536.51 million is being budgeted by the Union Surface Transport Ministry. This includes funding for road projects in the twin cities of Dharwad and Hubballi. The funds will be used to surface six main roads in Dharwad, 13 main roads in Hubballi and nine roads in Dharwad and Hubballi.

Hill & Smith Holdings reports a healthy performance for the period 1 July 2016 to 31 October 2016. The firm’s board says that trading has continued to be encouraging and that it expects Group trading performance for the current financial year to be at the top end of market expectations. The group’s results will also benefit from the positive translational impact on its overseas earnings from the recent weakness in Sterling.

Euro Auctions reports strong sales success at recent events it has run in Brisbane, Australia and Atlanta in the US. Both auctions showed customers keen to buy secondhand machines at healthy price levels according to the firm. In Atlanta, Georgia, USA Euro Auctions continues to benefit from a good demand for used machines. Its recent plant, machinery and vehicle sale in Atlanta in late October achieved sales of US$2.72 million. This represented a 25% increase in revenue from the firm’s previous sale, whi

Plans are moving forward with regard to the Iloilo-Guimaras-Negros Bridge in the Philippines. Building the 13.2km bridge is expected to cost up to US$457 million and take three years to be completed once the construction gets underway. The bridge will be built in the Visayas Region of the Philippines and would link a number of islands, replacing the ferry services in use at present. Chinese expertise may be employed to help design and construct the link while South Korean sources could deliver a portion of

Contractors OHL and Astaldi has won a major portion of a large highway project in California. The work is for the upgrade to I-405 in Los Angeles and is valued at US$ 1.2 billion. The two firms will work in a joint venture on the project. OHL has a 60% stake in the project while Astaldi holds the remaining 40% share. The deal represents a positive move for Astaldi, which is keen to develop its presence in the western US. The six year contract requires the design and construction of the improvement works