Finance & Funding

The World Bank looks likely to supply funding that will help pay for a major road improvement project in Nicaragua. The US$75 million loan should be agreed by November 2016, if all goes to plan. The funding will pay for major improvement works for the road connecting Nicaragua’s capital Managua with the country’s second city, Leon. At present the route suffers heavily from congestion at peak periods and is unsuited to the traffic volumes it has to cope with. The construction work is expected to commence in

Mexico will set up four road maintenance tenders worth nearly US$827 million in total as public-private partnerships in 2017. Contracts will cover the road projects Piramides-Tulancingo-Puebla, Matehuala-Saltillo, Saltillo-Monterrey-Nuevo Laredo and Texcoco-Zacatepec, according to the El Economista newspaper. The Secretariat of Communications and Transport, which will organise the work, said it has already launched two bidding processes for the maintenance of Coatzacoalcos-Villahermosa and Queretaro-S

Nearly €323 million will be spent by Hungary on road renovation projects in 2017, according to the Ministry of National Development. Tenders will be called by the Hungarian national road management agency Magyar Kozut. In June, a Colas Hungaria-Colas Ut consortium started work on a new stretch of M35 motorway, a deal worth up to €55 million.

The Czech Republic is planning a major programme of road upgrades. This will target secondary roads in the country, improving road surfaces as well as safety features. Some €155.45 million is being provided by the Czech Ministry for Local Development for the work. Much of the funding is being sourced from EU financing, with the programme of road repair and upgrade works scheduled to take place from August 2016 until October 2022.

Delays are afflicting the official opening of a stretch of the East-West highway in Algeria. This 84km section of the highway connects Dréan in the east of Algerian to the border with neighbouring Tunisia. A Japanese contractor was in charge of the project to construct the 400km eastern stretch of the East-West highway. However financial problems surrounding the need for additional work led to construction of the final stretch being curtailed. There is concern that should the work be left unfinished any lon

Dutch construction and related services group Royal BAM posted improved half-year results, despite Britain’s decision to leave the European Union. Half-year results to June showed pre-tax profit to €45 million, up from €4 million the previous year. However, group revenue slipped back €3.4 billion, down from around €3.5 billion. Construction and mechanical & electrical services suffered a €23.8 million loss, blamed on poor trading in Germany. But civil engineering and property helped profitability.

The World Bank agreed to finance construction of Kenya’s first double deck highway, according to media reports. Construction is set to begin by the end of this year on the toll road to link Jomo Kenyatta International Airport and the Nairobi-Nakuru highway. Peter Mundinia the director-general of the Kenya National Highways Authority, explained that construction of the all-elevated dual carriageway will be in three phases. The first will begin with 6.5km running from the airport to Likoni Road and the

Indonesia is looking to finalise the financing of the Tebing Tinggi-Kisaran toll road that is likely to cost around US$661 million. The 60km road is part of the trans-Sumatra highway project, which is targeted for completion in 2019, according to a report in the Jakarta Post newspaper. The route – one of 30 priority infrastructure projects - will connect Kuala Namu International Airport and Kuala Tanjung Port with the nearby Sei Mangkei industrial complex. “Of the eight priority routes on the trans-Sumat

The US state of Illinois has issued a Request for Information to develop a plan with private investors for the US$425 million Interstate 55 Managed Lanes Project. The public-private partnership project could serve as a model for rebuilding state roads and bridges,” said Illinois transportation secretary Randy Blankenhorn. Responses from the RFI are due by September 8, ahead of one-on-one meetings with potential private partners on September 20-21. A written statement from the department of transpor

A consortium of investors led by Goldman Sachs has agreed to invest US$220 million in Essel Highways, part of the Essel Group. This is the US private investment firm’s first foray into India’s road infrastructure market, according to India’s financial media reports. Essel Highways, a subsidiary of Essel Infraprojects, constructs, develops and operates national and state highways. Essel Highways, set up in 2007, boasts road assets valued at around $2 billion. It has a road development portfolio of 1