Finance & Funding

The Portuguese road agency Estradas de Portugal (EP) intends to invest €1.33 billion between 2015 and 2020 on the construction of new roads and on the renovation of existing ones. Some €893 million will be allocated on the construction of new roads, notably the tunnel at Marao which is costing €146 million and the €600 million IP3 road connecting Coimbra and Viseu.

The BAM PPP PGGM and Iridium consortium has been named preferred bidder for the N25 New Ross Bypass project in the Irish Republic. The US$270 million (€217 million) contract - Design, Build, Finance, Maintain and Operate - involves 13.6 km of dual carriageway on the N25 and N30 routes and 1.2 km of the carriageway New Ross N30 route. Construction is expected to support around 300 jobs across Ireland and will be undertaken by a joint venture of BAM Civil and civil engineering firm Dragados. The road will

In Brazil financing issues have hit a number of transport projects in Minas Gerais state. The Banco do Brasil is holding back funds for planned work. As a result the state government of Minas Gerais has halted work on 32 construction projects. The Banco do Brasil has not provided the expected US$345.86 million for the work to be carried out. The finances were arranged by the central government through its funding programmes. The projects include a section of the MG-437 road between Sabara and Nova Lima. The

The Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) is approving a loan worth US$105 million for Paraguay. The loan will cover work along San Juan Nepomuceno -route 6- road. The bank recently approved USD 150mn for Paraguay's national development agency AFD, as well as other loans to support small and medium size companies and improve roads across the country.

Moroccan motorway operator Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM) has announced that by 2016, the country will have a motorway network extending some 1,800km. The motorway network will have cost around US$5.1 billion to construct. ADM will also celebrate its 25th anniversary in 2016. At present ADM operates 1,511km of motorway. This is the second longest network in Africa. Further plans are in hand, with the focus now on improving connections between the north and the south of the country. An additional 2,000km of roads

Details of a major programme of road building projects have been unveiled by the UK Government. The plan envisages some €18.83 billion (£15 billion) being spent on constructing new road links and upgrading existing routes. This is the largest single programme of works for the UK’s road network for several decades. The plan includes 100 major projects, perhaps the most notable being the long-awaited tunnel for the A303 past the Stonehenge archeological site. The existing route is narrow at this point and suf

Indoogoo, a social and trading network for the construction industry, has added geolocation of available equipment to its My Rentals Website. Users of My Rentals have been locating and renting heavy equipment from big organisations including national outfits and smaller local traders. The new service now allows users to search for the machinery they wish to rent, specifying exactly where and when it is needed. The user is presented with a customised map showing all suitable machinery in the specified area.

The head of Brazil’s association of road constructors has warned of more layoffs unless the National Department of Infrastructure and Transport (DNIT) starts paying its contractors. Jose Alberto Pereira Ribeiro, president of ANEOR – National Association of Road Works - said companies already have been forced to lay off around 1,700 workers in light of non-payment by the government. Another 950 employees are on forced holidays. Ribeiro claimed DNIT failed to meet its financial obligations for September

At bauma China 2014, Liebherr announced new machines while also revealing its latest results. The company is optimistic for its financial performance, despite tough market conditions at present.