Finance & Funding

The Spanish construction firm Ferrovial is to handle a US$655 million contract in North Carolina. The 50 year concession package is for the I-77 highway. Under the terms of the package, Ferrovial’s subsidiary Cintra will improve and upgrade the I-77 highway in Charlotte.

Two major highway projects are being planned in Yemen. A new 710km highway will link the southern port city of Aden with Saudi Arabia, while there are also plans for a new 85km highway in the country’s central region. The route connecting Aden with Saudi Arabia is expected to cost some US$3.5 billion to construct. Around $134 million is being provided for this project by the World Bank while the Saudi Development Fund will supply $320 million. Work is expected to commence in three months’ time although the

Auction firm Ritchie Bros has scored a strong sales performance after a series of three heavy equipment auctions in Edmonton, Canada. In all, the firm sold over C$300 million worth of equipment, with this latest auction held recently accounting for C$104 million of machines. The company sold over 5,350 items of heavy equipment to customers from all over the world with the units for sale coming from 863 different sellers and strong prices being achieved. In all there were some 5,800 bidders from over 50 coun

According to the European Construction Industry Federation, FIEC, there is light at the end of the tunnel in terms of market activity. The FIEC estimates a decline of 2.3% in overall EU construction activity in 2013 but forecasts stabilisation of in 2014 with market gains of 0.1% expected overall. “There can be no growth without investment!” warned FIEC vice president Jacques Huillard, responsible for economic issues. He presented FIEC’s annual statistics prior to the FIEC’s Congress. “The policy of austeri

The final funding has been found for a new dual carriageway connection linking the city of Mombasa to its airport. The Transport Ministry has revealed that US$15 million is being provided for the work by Trademark East Africa, on top of the $24 million being provided by the Kenyan Government. The tender process for the project is now commencing and the size of the deal involved is being revealed shortly. The upgraded road will link Moi International Airport with Changamwe, which lies on the western outskirt

A report from insurance firm AIG warns that up to half of Colombia's 4G highway concessions could face financial hurdles due to over-estimated predictions of traffic flows. Colombia is at present putting out to tender its fourth generation (4G) concessions, which involve some US$25 billion in investment, reports Business News America. This investment is impressive and is Latin America's biggest move to expand and improve road infrastructure. But while many companies have shown interest and were prequalified

Contractor Mota-Engil is heading the consortium that has been awarded the Cardel-Poza Rica highway concession in Mexico. The package was awarded by Mexico's transport and communications ministry (SCT), reports Business News Americas. The Mota-Engil bid included work costs of US$269 million. The 30-year concession covers construction and operation of a 129km stretch of highway between Laguna Verde and Gutiérrez Zamora, improving connections in the coastal region of Veracruz state as well as connections to V

IronPlanet, the leading online marketplace for buying and selling used heavy equipment, has launched allEquip.com, an online, ‘buy now’ marketplace of used construction equipment for sale at competitive prices. Greg Owens, CEO of IronPlanet, said, “With a wide selection of equipment, buyers can purchase equipment online today and every day at competitive prices with confidence knowing the equipment was inspected and guaranteed. We are committed to making the buying and selling of equipment faster and easie

The Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure has released details of its plans for road infrastructure projects worth €2 billion by the end of 2016. The ministry aims to increase the efficiency of its road construction programme, compared with the last 10 years. Improving relations with its neighbours means that international links will be upgraded. Both Serbia and its neighbours have made strong efforts to boost ties and cross border transport is expected to grow as the diplomatic tha

Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam looks set to benefit from 14 infrastructure projects costing a total of US$9.44 billion. One of the key projects will be to improve and repair Luong Dinh Cua Street while another is for the building of the new Ha Noi Expressway-Eastern Ring Road link road. Loan facilities are being provided by the Sai Gon-Ha Noi Commercial Bank (SHB) to Phu My Construction (PMC). The construction programme also includes the Rach Chiec Bridge, five elevated highways and the Southern Ring Road. The