Finance & Funding

Sri Lanka plans to construct a new bridge that will improve transport connections to capital Colombo. The six lane bridge will span the Kelani River. It will be built parallel to the existing Kelani Bridge (Japan Friendship Bridge) and help cut congestion on this important travel route. The project is expected to cost US$335.6 million. The bridge will feature an elevated approach road and the project also includes the construction of interchanges linking the Colombo-Katunayake Expressway (CKE), Baseline Roa

Drilling work on the Eurasia Tunnel connecting Istanbul's European and Asian sides has been completed. Total length of the tunnel will be 5.4km, of which 3.3km will run under the sea. At its deepest point, the tunnel will be around 106m deep, according to a report by Hurriyet newspaper. Completion of the whole project is expected in the first quarter of 2017. The cost of the project amounts to some US$1.2 billion, of which $960 million has come from investment banks. Upon completion, the tunnel wil

Strabag consortium has signed a contract for construction of a 15.2km section of the A1 motorway between Wozniki and Pyrzowice. Completion of the section that will connect Pyrzowice with Czestochowa is due by the end of 2018. It is the first of four contracts signed for construction of the motorway. Strabag’s offer is believed to be around €144 million, while the budget set by the General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), was set just over €200 million. Meanwhile, the S6 dual car

The Ecuadorian city of Cuenca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is in discussions with contractors for construction of a 50km ring road. The city – whose full name is Santa Ana de los cuatro ríos de Cuenca - is the capital of the highland Azuay province and around 2,500m above sea level. It has a population of around 400,000 rising to 700,000 in the larger metro area. Ecuadorian media reports put the cost of the road at around US$600 million. The initiative will be financed by the private sector and the winn

China is offering an interest-free US$130 million loan to Pakistan for construction of the Gwadar East Bay Expressway in the southwest port of Gwadar. The proposed 19km expressway will connect the Gwadar Port with the Mekran Coastal Highway, passing along the east bay of Gwadar City. The loan is part of a wider financing deal whereby China has a converted $225.5 million loan for the Gwadar International Airport into a loan. Work on the highway is expected to start in November for completion at the

Michelin has invested in the Chinese start-up company Luli Information Technology, based in Shanghai. Luli was set up in 2014 to develop applications for vehicle ride-sharing services in China, and created the app Lu You Tong Xing Michelin said its investment, through the French global tyre maker’s Incubator programme, will help Luli develop more products in a market where ride-sharing is growing in popularity. Jean-Claude Zhang, chief executive of Luli Information Technology said Michelin’s investme

Tenders for construction of connecting roads for Istanbul's third bridge over the Bosporus have been postponed for the fourth time. A tender for the Kurtkoy-Akyazi motorway tender will be held on March 1 next year with that for the Kinali-Odayeri road will be held a week later, the Dünya Gazetesi newspaper reported. The tenders will be held as part of the 260km North Marmara Motorway project that includes the soon to be completed Yavus Sultan Selim Bridge. Completion of the connecting roads is plan

The authorities in Moscow will shortly open the tender process for the first section of the Solntsevo-Butovo-Vidnoye highway. The contract to build the road is worth some US$388.46 million. The work on the 7km section of the road will include the construction of eight lanes for traffic area, on and off ramps, pedestrian crossings and traffic lights, three overpasses and the installation of noise attenuation barriers.

Key highway projects are being planned for Indonesia. The Indonesian firm Wijaya Karya (Wika) will work on three toll road projects in the country worth just over US$922 million. The projects are for the Samarinda-Balikpapan, Manado-Bitung and the Soreang-Pasirkoja routes. The firm hopes to fund the projects using a mix of state and private funding. Meanwhile the toll road operator Jasa Marga is working on securing the funding it needs to finance work on the Kertosono-Ngawi-Solo section of the Transjava Hig

Bidding has been closed for the contract to construct the Toyo Tunnel in Colombia. Three offers for the project have been made. In all, eight firms are participating in the tendering, with six of the companies being from Colombia itself. The project is expected to cost some US$595 million. The new tunnel will improve connectivity between Medellin and Uraba and will run from Giraldo to Canasgordas. The tunnel will form part of the Uraba road which runs through the mountain range at 1,500m.