Finance & Funding

The concession package for the US$1.06 billion Américo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) expressway in Santiago, Chile looks set to be awarded to a consortium headed by OHL Concesiones Chile. OHL's proposal of a subsidy close to 20% of the project's cost beat Spanish group Cintra's bid, according to a report from Business News Americas. Of 15 companies that prequalified for the project, only OHL in an alliance with Sacyr Concesiones Chile and Cintra had submitted technical offers for the 40-year concession. Constructi

The tender process is opening for a highway project in Brazil's southern Paraná State. The project will be carried out under the PPP model and the deal is worth some US$3.21 billion. The package of works necessary will require widening, improving, maintaining and operating state highway PR-323 as well as a number of adjacent roads. The package is for a 30-year concession and involves widening 207km of highway between the towns of Paiçandu and Francisco Alves in the northeast of the state, according to a rep

The tender process is being opened for a new PPP road project for the island of Aruba. The Watty Vos Boulevard tender will be under the design, build, finance and maintain model, set out under a 22 year package by Aruba’s Government. The tender process is open to local and international contractors and consultants. The total cost of the project is estimated at around US$120 million. The work involves rebuilding some 7km of road along a 17km stretch as well as upgrading 12 intersections and building two over

Two Chinese construction firms are keen to build Bulgaria’s Cherno More highway. The highway runs close to the country’s Black Sea Coast and will connect the cities of Varna and Burgas when it is complete. The project is just one of several in Central and Eastern Europe that will receive a portion of the €10 billion cooperation credit line proposed by China for the region. The 103km Cherno More highway will be one section of the Pan-European Corridor VIII and will connect with the Hemus highway at Varna and

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) says it has provided strong support to emerging economies in 2013. Much of this investment has been into transportation infrastructure, which the EBRD sees as being crucial for development and to help emerge economies into growth. Total investments for the year across all of the regions where the EBRD is active amounted to €8.5 billion, according to preliminary estimates, compared with financing of €8.9 billion the previous year. These investments

Europe’s contractors’ association, the FIEC, has criticised the EU’s new public procurement package, describing it as a missed opportunity. “The EU institutions did not seize the opportunity to solve one of the most severe shortcomings of the existing public procurement directives,” said Ulrich Paetzold, FIEC director general. “I mean by that the identification and treatment of abnormally low tenders, which is a real curse in the construction sector.” Today’s adoption by the European Parliament of the thre

Work is underway on an important highway improvement scheme in Vietnam. The project involves upgrading the Gia Lai-Binh Dinh section of National Highway 19. The work is being carried out under the build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. The actual construction work is scheduled for completion during 2015. The project is costing US$95 million and involves work to a 56km section of the route. The concession package has been agreed under a 22 year deal.

A series of major trade routes are being upgraded in Nepal, which are intended to help boost bilateral trade with neighbouring India and China. This will see four key trade routes being upgraded to six lanes. These are the; Butwal-Belhiya, Rani-Ithari, Surybinayak-Dhulikhel and Birgunj-Pathalaiya highway sections. Work is already underway on the Butwal-Belihiya and Rani-Ithari highway sections while work is also being planned for the Suryabinayak-Dhulikhel and Birgunj-Pathalaiya highways. Of the 24km stretc

Two important bridge projects are planned for Indonesia. The South Korean firm Samsung is keen to build a 6.7km bridge to link Bintan Island with the free trade zone (FTZ) located in Batam Island. The copmany has been in discussions with the Indonesian Government with regard to the project, which will also include developing a container port in Batam's Tanjung Sauh and is likely to cost in the order of US$576.5 million in all. Meanwhile plans are in hand for a new 600m bridge to be developed in Jayapura. Th

The Brazilian Government looks set to finance work to upgrade key highways in the country. This move comes although the highways were privatised in the 1990s, according to a report by Business News Americas. The work looks likely to cost as much as US$1.7 billion and will be carried out on highways that are operated by CCR and Triunfo Participações e Investimentos (TPI). Although the routes were privatised, the Brazilian Government will finance necessary upgrades as this includes highway expansion work not