Finance & Funding

Plans are in hand in South East Asia for an improved road link connecting Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar and Laos. A loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) worth US$100 million will help fund the work for the 66.4km section running between Kawkareik and Eindu in Myanmar. The highway will run for some 1,450km in all. The road will be called the East-West Economic Corridor and is of key importance to open up trade and transport between these nations. Talks for this project are underway at present.

A new book by US domestic policy expert James P Pinkerton reveals that investing in transportation infrastructure will build America’s economic strength. In A Vision of American Strength: How Transportation Infrastructure Built the United States, Pinkerton observes that “the history of civilisation is the history of infrastructure.” He explains how societies have flourished as they developed better roads and other transportation systems. Pinkerton details how transport infrastructure fuelled the growth of

The Brazilian Government has identified around 10,000km of new highway concessions. This programme will be achieved through a new road maintenance scheme called Programa Nacional de Manutencao de Rodovias (PNMR). The scheme will seek the replacement of existing road maintenance contracts with PPP or other concession arrangements in five years. Brazil has around 9,900km of privatised roads at the moment. Including blocks part of the PIL scheme, this figure stands at 17,000kms. The main aim of the PNMR plan w

A loan from the World Bank (WB) will help fund repair work to a key road link in Bolivia. The US$225 million loan will be used to improve roads in Bolivia, with the most important project being for the repair and upgrade of the link connecting Trinidad with Santa Cruz. The funds will help pay for improvements to a 567km stretch of this road, which will be resurfaced and improved. The work is expected to cost around $215 million to complete

Work is now underway on a new highway in Mexico’s Baja California State. The Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has invested US$148.7 million in building the new Cabo San Lucas-San Jose del Cabo highway. The 38.7km project will include the construction of Caduano Bridge, the renovation and expansion of the Santa Rosa-Puerto Chale road and road surfacing at Todos Santos municipality.

Poland’s road authority GDDKiA has signed 13 road deals and has secured European financing worth a combined total of €1.91 billion. These works are being carried out from 2014-20. The available EU finance in the current perspective allocated to GDDKiA's projects stands at close to €10 billion. Poland’s road investment programme for 2014-23 includes building at least 3,900km of roads and 57km of ring roads.

Financing from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) will help develop Tunisia’s road network. A 34 year loan worth nearly US$192 from the IBRD will help fund the work. The deal was agreed between the IBRD and the Tunisian Assembly of the Representatives of the People. The road projects will enable an improved access to a number areas in the country.. A special office will be in charge of monitoring bridges from 2016 and drafting reports regarding their condition. Similarly, Tunis

Italian global infrastructure group Salini Impregilo has agreed to buy 100% of Lane Industries, an American highways contractor and the “top private asphalt producer” in the US. Lane, a family-owned business based in Cheshire, Connecticut, was bought for US$406 million and has a turnover of around $1.5 billion. The company has three divisions: asphalt production, road projects and other infrastructure projects, in domestic and international markets. A statement from Salini said Lane is participating i

The National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) will consider approval of seven Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects, two of them highways, by the end of this month. The highways are the US$516 million Manila connector road and the $209 million Plaridel toll road. A report by the Manila-based Business World Online newspaper said the deals are worth around US$3.65 billion.

French construction group Vinci has been named preferred bidder for construction and operation of the previously canceled western motorway bypass in Strasbourg, northeastern France. Vinci will lead a consortium for the project estimated to need €475 million. The contract will be signed next year with construction to start in 2017, according to a report in the French newspaper Dernieres Nouvelles d’Alsace