Finance & Funding

A loan being provided by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) will help pay for road upgrades in the Kyrgyz Republic. The money will be used to improve and upgrade the Osh-Batken-Isfana highway. The US$100 million loan is to the Kyrgyz Republic Government for a period of 40 years at 0.25%/year, with a grace period of 10 years.

The Laos Government is planning to build a network of six interlinked roads that will cost in the order of US$3.98 billion. The Laos Ministry of Public Works and Transport says that the network will comprise some existing roads that will be upgraded to meet Asean highway standards, as well as new road sections. In total this new network will measure some 2,374km long. One of the six new highways will be built using the routes of the existing Road No 7 and Road No R3, connecting the province of Bokeo and the

Colombia's US$561 million Perimetral de Oriente de Cundinamarca4G highway concession package has received bids from four different consortia. Business News Amercas reports that this is the highest number of bidders that a 4G highway concession has received since the country’s national infrastructure agency, ANI, started receiving bids in April for its first wave of nine highway concessions. There were comparatively few bidders for the first three projects so ANI made a number of changes, including revising

Volvo Construction Equipment has now finalised its acquisition of the hauler business from Terex. The purchase consideration amounted to US$160 million on a cash and debt-free basis. The deal includes the main production facility in Motherwell, Scotland and two product ranges that offer both rigid and articulated haulers. It also includes the distribution of haulers in the US as well as a 25.2% holding in Inner Mongolia North Hauler Joint Stock Co (NHL), which manufactures and sells rigid haulers under the

Serbia is planning to speed construction of its highway network. A key project being prioritised is the Corridor 10 motorway, which is due for completion by September 2016. Another priority project is for Corridor 11 and for several regional road routes. At present the Corridor 10 sections between Sid and Belgrade, and Subotica and Belgrade have been built, while work on the 22km Ipsilon stretch between Subotica and Kelebija is underway. Work is also underway on the 96km south node from Grabovnica to Presev

The Senate Environment & Public Works Committee in the US has approved a six-year reauthorisation of the federal highway programme. The move will be of major importance for the transportation construction industry, which has suffered from low levels of business in recent years. This six year package will provide a major stimulus to business for contractors and equipment firms alike, providing new jobs, as well as helping boost improvements to the US transportation network. The president of the American Roa

Munich-based light equipment manufacturer Wacker Neuson reports a healthy balance sheet despite difficult conditions. The company says that group revenue climbed by 13% for the first quarter, compared with the same period last year. This a new record for the first quarter of €291.6 million, compared with €257.1 million for the same period in 2013. The performance was affected by currency fluctuations as currency values in many emerging markets as well as the US dollar lost ground against the Euro in the fir

Chilean construction organisation CChC has published a study saying the country needs to spend some US$12.5 billion on road upgrades and construction over the next 10 years. This is because the country’s vehicle numbers are increasing, according to Business News Americas. The report says that Chile needs to expand its road network by 12,500km to 90,000km by 2023 to keep pace with the growing volume of traffic. Some 4,000km of the proposed new road should be highway or toll road, according to the study. To r