Finance & Funding

In Uganda planning is underway for the upgrade of the Kampala-Jinja route. Preparations are being made for a new tolled highway connecting with capital Kampala. The upgrade will see the route being widened with four lanes for much of the length, six lanes on the approach to Kampala and up to eight lanes where vehicle densities will be heaviest to carry the capital’s traffic. The construction work is expected to cost some US$74 million and the new link will connect with the existing Kampala-Entebbe highway.

Widening work to a 453km section of Brazil’s BR-163 highway will be carried out by the consortium, Rota do Oeste. The firm is the current operator of the highway and is receiving a US$298.84 million loan from national development bank BNDES to fund the necessary widening of the route. The deal has been approved by the Brazilian land transport agency, ANTT. The funds will also be used to provide maintenance work for this section of the BR-163 highway.

Japanese contractor Cojaal's contract for the construction of a stretch of Algeria’s East-West highway has been cancelled. The Algerian Ministry for Public Works terminated the contract as the firm had not met the requirements of the initial agreement when the deal was signed. The exact cause of this contract cancellation has not been revealed and nor is it clear if this development will bar the firm from tendering for future projects in the country. Much of Algeria’s East-West highway is complete but some

Work on Angola’s Luanda-Soyo highway section is being financed from Italian sources. The Italian export credit agency and credit insurer SACE is guaranteeing a US$221.8 million credit line to Angola's Ministry of Finance for completing works on the final stretch of the Luanda-Soyo highway. The work on the project is being carried out by Italian civil engineering firm CMC Ravenna. The project itself is worth some $336.8 million. Meanwhile BNP Paribas is acting as Sole Structuring Bank and Agent Bank for the

Caixa Economica Federal will analyse a proposal for support US$264.42 million for recovery work on Brazil’s Rodovia Presidente Dutra highway. The proposal has been put forward by Brazilian road operator CCR and needs to be approved by Caixa before any funds can be released. Authorisation for this analysis process to go ahead was given by the board of the FI-FGTS investment fund. The funds would go to the recovery work along the 402km highway that connects Sao Paulo with Rio de Janeiro. CCR has operated the

China is providing some US$20 billion worth of financing for infrastructure projects in Latin American and Caribbean nations. The money will be available in tranches with the first worth $10 billion and this was agreed following talks between the Chinese, Latin American and Caribbean heads of state. China already has considerable involvement in some major projects in Latin America, according to Business News Americas. This further funding source will strengthen the financial relationships.

The Kyrgyz Republic is receiving a loan worth over US$118 million for highway repairs from Japan. The two countries have established a co-operation agreement that will be used to improve highway connections in the Kyrgyz Republic’s Osh, Jalal-Abad, and Talas Provinces. The deal also includes the supply of equipment for road maintenance work. This latest loan is one in a series that Japan has made for investing and improving infrastructure in developing nations in recent months.

Plans are in hand to upgrade a major highway in Mexico’s Sonoro state. A budget of US$1.6 billion has been set in place for the necessary work. The highway will be widened and will feature two traffic lanes in either direction once the work is complete. The plans for the project have been set out by Mexico’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT). Funding for the project is being provided by the National Infrastructure Fund (Fonadin) as well as the state-owned bank Banco Nacional de Obras y Servi

In Saudi Arabia the go-ahead has been given for a new expressway that will connect Qassim with Makkah. The project is worth some US$1.2 billion and will include the construction of service facilities along the route. Details regarding the tender process or any technical features of the project have yet to be revealed.

In Denmark the Ministry of Transport has presented a proposal for hearing concerning a major new bridge link. The proposed structure would cross the Roskilde Fjord south of Frederikssund, partly replacing the existing Kronprins Frederik Bridge. The project is expected to cost €281.62 million, with partial financing from the Infrastructure Fund (Infrastrukturfonden). The rest will be sourced through road tolls. The Danish Construction Association has said that the project should also include the completion o