Finance & Funding

The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways has set a target to lay 15,000km of roads during 2016/17, according to a government source. The target means that around 40km of roads will be paved each day - two times the current figure, according to the business magazine Steel Guru. The National Highways and Industrial Development Corporation’s target is 7,000km and that of the National Highways Authority of India is 8,000km. The NHIDCL will award national highway contracts covering 10,000km and the N

Dubai’s Roads and Transport Authority has approved a US$28.6 million deal for a bridge linking the south and north of Jebel Ali Free Zones. According to the chairman of RTA, Mattar Al Tayer, the project is part of the authority's master plan for tunnels, crossings, bridges and roads. The announced works include building a six-lane highway to link Jafza South and Jafza North across the Sheikh Zayed Road. RTA said the project is set to take 18 months and is implemented in partnership with the Jebel Ali

Funding has been secured for a major highway project in Pakistan. Some US$100 million is being provided by the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) for work on Pakistan’s M-4 Motorway project. The investment will take the form of co-financing for the Shorkot-Khanewal section of this major road project. AIIB is based in China and has commented that there is major potential in Pakistan for infrastructure development.

A proposed bridge across the Kattegat Sea in northern Europe would be cheaper for the Danish government than previously expected, according to an engineering report. The bridge between Denmark’s Jutland and Zealand islands would need around €2.02 billion in government subsidies, noted the report from Danish engineering consultancy Rambøll. A previous report from the Ministry of Transport concluded that subsidies would have to be around €6.85 billion and need to be financed by loans. This caused the mi

Brazil's national department of transport infrastructure, Dnit, has approved a proposal to suspend work on 29 road projects across 12 states. The approval comes after severe budget cuts this year and the number of affected works could increase to 61. Dnit noted, however, that no work will be immediately stopped and that current contracts will be maintained. The proposal will now go before the Ministry of Transport and Planning and the Office of the Chief of Staff before it can receive final approva

The Canadian province of Alberta has put a halt to further public-private partnership projects pending a provincial government cabinet decision on their use. Alberta infrastructure minister Brian Mason said the New Democratic Party government isn’t declaring a moratorium on P3s. However, he said that he plans to stick to the traditional methods of funding as he launches a five-year US$27 billion capital construction programme. The Calgary Sun newspaper quoted Mason saying “there are real questions abo

A Mexican firm has been awarded a major highway concession package in the country. Promotora y Operadora de Infraestructura (Pinfra) will build, operate and maintain La Raza-Indios Verdes-Santa Clara motorway for a 30-year concession. The package of works was awarded by the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT). Pinfra’s offer was for a US$376.12 million deal for the implementation of the 10km route. This stretch of highway is expected to carry 50,000 vehicles/day. However, the offer

Argentina's Transport Minister Guillermo Dietrich has revealed that the government will tender road projects worth nearly US$7 billion in the second half of this year. Work will start for some of the contracts by the end of this year and up to 2019, he said.

A number of major bridge projects in Chile are now delayed.

Major highway improvement works are being proposed for Queensland, Australia. The aim of the work will be to reduce congestion along a 4km stretch of highway that suffers long delays during peak periods at present. Some US$129.5 million (A$168 million) of federal funding will has been proposed to widen the highway connecting the Gold Coast with Queensland capital Brisbane, with work possibly starting in 2017. However the project hangs in the balance and depends on the results of an upcoming election process