Finance & Funding

Russia is setting out a new road development budget

June 13, 2016

Russia is setting out plans for development of its transport network, with road construction and maintenance amongst the areas being prioritised. The new plan will run from 2016-2021 and has been established by the Transport Ministry. In all the country intends to spend close to US$90 billion developing transportation. The construction of new federal highways and rebuilding of existing links will be high on the agenda for action. During 2016, the plans call for 360km of new motorways opening for traffic.

Argentina developing road infrastructure and road maintenance

June 13, 2016

Argentina has set out plans for a major refurbishment of much of its dilapidated road network. The work will take four years to complete and involves building 2,800km of highways as well as 4,000km of trunk roads. This is a substantial programme of works, which should also deliver around 35,000 much-needed jobs. The Ministry for Transport has drawn up the schedule work the programme, which is expected to cost in the region of US$14.43 billion. The country’s total road system stretches for some 182,000km

Morocco’s road development programme continuing

June 8, 2016

Morocco’s road network development programme is continuing, with new local roads, trunk roads and motorways being planned. Morocco’s Ministry of Equipment, Transport and Logistics has said a budget of US$9.84 billion is being set to construct 5,500km of roads in the country. The plans call for the building of 3,400km of motorways and a further 2,100km of trunk roads. In addition, a separate plan has been set out for building new rural roads, connecting every village and town in the country to the motorway n

Progression with Bangladesh elevated highway

June 8, 2016

Plans are in hand for a radical new 225km raised highway to connect Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with the city of Chittagong. An elevated highway design is required due to the low-lying terrain along the country’s coast where the highway would run, as the area is prone to frequent flooding. However raising the roadway is also boosting the cost of the project substantially. The work is likely to cost in the region of US$8.91 billion according to estimates. As a result, the Bangladesh Government is having had to

Indonesia: Jasa Marga secures four highway concession deals

June 8, 2016

Toll road operator Jasa Marga of Indonesia has added four contracts at a cost of nearly US$2.4 billion to its highway concession portfolio. Jasa Marga hold equity of between 55% and 65% in each project, according to a report by the Jakarta Post newspaper. The contracts are for the 40km Bitung-Manado Highway in Sulawesi, the 99km Samarinda-Balikpapan Highway in Kalimantan, the 38km Malang-Pandaan Highway in East Java and the 75km Semarang-Batang Highway in central Java. Netherlands-based Indonesia I

Sale is slow for South Klang Valley Expressway and Silk Highway

June 8, 2016

Malaysia’s South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE) remains unsold despite being up for sale “for some tie”. The Star newspaper reported unnamed sources saying the SKVE has suffered from low traffic volumes, compared with the Silk Highway, which is now also up for sale. SKVE connects to the 37km Silk Highway – also known as the Kajang Traffic Dispersal Ring Road - at the Universiti Tenaga Nasional interchange, collectively stretching from Seri Kembangan to Pulau Indah. Together, 90km of continuous high

Head of San Miguel moots a Philippines bridge project in Boracay

June 8, 2016

The president of infrastructure group San Miguel has mooted that a 2km toll bridge be built to connect the small island holiday resort of Boracay with the Larger Panay Island. Boracay - just over 10km2 - is an increasingly popular international tourist destination around 315km south of the Philippine capital Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of Panay in Western Visayas island group. The island is blessed with exceptionally white sand beaches and is administered by the Philippine Tourism Authority and

Nepal budget focusing on transport

June 7, 2016

Nepalese minister for finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has highlighted the importance of transport as part of the country’s budget for the fiscal year 2016/2017. Key issues include reviving the economy affected by the earthquake and the supply system disruption and attaining high economic growth through increasing productivity and production. The budget will aid with promoting domestic and external investment and expanding economic activities, increasing income and employment and reducing poverty, in a bid to c

Kenya highway deal signed with China

June 7, 2016

The authorities in Kenya have signed an agreement with a Chinese contractor for a major highway project. The deal is for design and feasibility studies for this proposed highway, which would run from Ruaka to Gitaru. The 16.5km highway section would form part of Nairobi’s Western Bypass, should the project get the official go ahead once the feasibility study has been completed and analysed. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CBRC) will carry out the feasibility study as well as the preliminary design, havin

Funding for Estonia infrastructure

June 7, 2016

European funding will pay for the reconstruction of key infrastructure links in Estonia. During 2015, the country started work on 421 projects being funded by the EU. The total value of these 421 projects was €1.082 billion. Some €108.6 million of this EU funding was used for road construction, with €45.7 million being used to rebuild the Väo-Jüri section of Talinn’s ring road.