Finance & Funding

Financial close reached for A9 Gaasperdammerweg motorway work

November 25, 2014

Financial close has been reached for expansion of the A9 motorway near Amsterdam in the Netherlands. BNG Bank, DZ BANK, ING, KBC, SMBC and Société Général have made available a short-term debt of US$174 million (€140 million) and half of the long-term debt of nearly $509 million (€410 million). The European Investment Bank will provide the other half of the long-term debt. Mott MacDonald is the lenders’ technical advisor to the consortium IXAS Zuid-Oost, which has the public-private contract to expand

Serbia approves merger of Koridori Srbije and Putevi Srbije

November 25, 2014

Serbia’s Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure has approved a merger between the public-owned roads companies Putevi Srbije (Roads of Serbia) and Koridori Srbije (Corridors of Serbia). Putevi Srbije maintains roads while Koridori focuses on construction planning and project management, including expropriation of land. The government said the merger will contribute to faster completion of projects such as stretches of Europe’s Corridor 10 and Corridor 11 road networks and hopefully red

How Florida paved the way for availability payments in the US

November 21, 2014

New financing models have been used to deliver key transport links in the US - * Patrick D Harder and Brandon J Davis Florida Department of Transportation’s (FDOT) public-private partnership (PPP) programme has made impressive progress, setting precedents for US transportation planning and funding. On March 26th 2014, FDOT opened 16km of new reversible express lanes as part of its US$1.8 billion I-595 Corridor Roadway Improvements Project. Just a few months later, on August 3rd 2014, FDOT opened twin tunnel

Kobelco posts financial results

November 21, 2014

Kobelco Construction Machinery has posted its semi-annual results for the 2014 financial year. The results give grounds for caution as well as some optimism however. In the Japanese hydraulic excavator market, a significant decline was expected initially in response to the impact of last-minute demand in the previous financial year. However, the decline was less than expected owing to strong domestic demand. As a result, the total domestic demand for heavy hydraulic excavators in the first half decreased by

Putin orders doubling road-building in Russia by 2022

November 21, 2014

Russia looks set to accelerate its road building programme – Eugene Gerden writes The volume of road building in Russia should be doubled by 2022, according to a recent order of Russia’s president Vladimir Putin. He said, “We need a real breakthrough in road building during the next several years. These volumes should be doubled during the coming decade.”

Chilean infrastructure projects being planned

November 20, 2014

In Chile plans are well in hand for a series of major infrastructure projects, with the work likely to help boost the country’s economy. The Ministry of Public Works in Chile (MOP) has announced that it will speed up the process for key infrastructure construction projects. Those projects involving investments of around US$1.10 billion should be approved by 11th March 2015. The Ministry of Public Works has indicated that three private concession contracts have already been approved, including the dual-carri

Japan agrees to help Thailand on East-West Economic corridor work

November 17, 2014

Japan has agreed in principle to provide financial assistance to Thailand for road construction and upgrades in connection with the East-West Economic Corridor. The corridor is based on 1,450km of highway running across four Southeast Asian countries. The idea of investing in the corridor was originally proposed during a multi-national ministerial conference in Manila, Philippines, in 1998. Much of the route had been completed by 2010, according to review document by Asian Development Bank. It also noted t

NCT survey shows Brazil’s roads improving

November 17, 2014

Brazil’s roads are improving, but more than 49,000km remain in a fair, bad or very bad state, according to the latest figures from the National Confederation of Transport. Nearly half of roads are considered fair or worse, down from three-quarters in the NCT’s last survey in 2004. The NCT represents around 124,000 cargo and passenger transportation businesses and more than 824,000 independent truck drivers. The survey took into account paving, road routes and signalling and found the 10 best roads in

Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha government lays out 12-year road plan

November 17, 2014

Spain’s Castilla-La Mancha government lays out 12-year road plan Spain’s regional government of Castilla-La Mancha will spend around US$282 million on new road infrastructure as part of a major 12-year highways strategy. Castilla-La Mancha approved the Third Regional Roads Plan this month which envisaged spending upwards of $1.6 billion in the 12 years. The plan will be reviewed every four years. The landlocked autonomous region of Castilla-La Mancha lies mostly southeast of Madrid and includes

Wacker Neuson remains on growth path in Q3

November 14, 2014

Wacker Neuson Group reported a significant rise in revenue and profit for the third quarter of 2014 with especially high performance in the Americas and Asia-Pacific. Sales of light and compact equipment were driven primarily by an upturn in business in North America where the Munich-based group is planning its first production line for compact equipment. All regions contributed to revenue growth in the third quarter of 2014. Europe reported a 14% increase while the Americas and Asia-Pacific both saw reve