Finance & Funding

Funding sources are being looked at for the important Trans-Sumatra highway in Indonesia. The Indonesian Government has been holding discussions with the Asia Investment Infrastructure Bank (AIIB). A loan for the construction of the 130km stretch of tolled highway from Pekanbaru to Dumai is being considered. In all this stretch of highway is expected to cost some US$1.24 billion to construct with just under a third being funded by the loan.

JCB reports strong financial performance despite the current tough trading conditions in most of the developing markets around the world. The firm says it has achieved underlying earnings of £214 million during 2015 despite the difficult market conditions and slower than expected growth in North American and European markets. According to JCB’s analysis, the global market for construction equipment dropped by 14% during 2015 overall. Market conditions in the first half of 2016 remain fragile with the except

Plans are being made for a new bridge to connect Clarinda in Argentina with Puerto Falcon in Paraguay. The bridge will span the Pilcomayo River, the longest tributary of the Paraguay River and it will connect Highway 11 in Argentina with Highway 12 in Paraguay, close to its capital, Asuncion. The new bridge is needed as the current structure is over 50 years old and is becoming unable to cope adequately with traffic demands. Both countries will fund the construction of the new bridge, which will help to dev

Serbian vice president Zorana Mihajlovic has held talks with Li Manchang, China's Ambassador to Serbia in Serbia, for continuation of works on Belgrade’s ring road. According to the political magazine B92, Mihajlovic also signed a memorandum of understanding with Azvirt, the company from Azerbaijan, and China's Sinohidro. Discussions included continuation of work on the Surcin-Obrenovac part of the Corridor 11 motorway. A commercial deal for the project has already been signed with the China Communica

India is busy with plans to expand its highway network. The work is being managed by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) and up to 97 different highway projects are envisaged in the complete programme. Some US$16 billion worth of projects could be awarded in the 2016-2017 period if all the planned projects move ahead as anticipated. These would deliver an additional 6,631km of highways in total. At present there are 250 highway construction projects underway in India, while 400 have already been

Preliminary utilities work is set to begin in September on the last section a ring road around the Canadian city of Calgary. The Calgary Herald newspaper quoted the Alberta provincial infrastructure and transportation minister Brian Mason saying that the project is on schedule. He said “everything is going as planned … It’s important that we keep on top of this and it’s important that we keep it moving forward and so far we’re doing just that.” The public-private-partnership project for the southwest

National Bank Financial and Axium Infrastructure have refinanced the Sea-to-Sky Highway Improvement Project in the Canadian province of British Columbia. A statement from Axium said that the US$427 million 25-year public-private-partnership had “strong investor support and an A2 rating from Moody’s”. The Sea-to-Sky Highway Investment Limited Partnership - Axium Infrastructure, Régime de Rentes du Mouvement Desjardins and Nova Scotia Pension Agency - is the consortium in charge of the concession. In

Foreign funding will help pay for key road rebuilding work in Rwanda. Loans worth US$162.4 million are being provided by the African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), with a $22 million development grant also coming from the EU. These financial sources will help pay for work to improve the 92km long link connecting Kayonza with Rusumo as well as the 116km road between Kagitumba and Kayonza. These road links are of importance as they help connect Rwanda to its nei

The opening of a new road link in Nicaragua will reduce journey times between capital Managua and El Guasaule, which lies on the border with Honduras. The road connects La Paz Centro, Malpaisillo and Villa 15 de Julio. Heavy vehicles previously had to take a more circuitous route that was also longer, so the new road will help cut transport costs. Funding for the project was provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). This new road is one of a series of projects Nicaragua’s Ministry of Transpo