Finance & Funding

Slovakia’s motorway company NDS has selected a consortium led by Metrostav of the Czech Republic to build a 13.5km stretch of the R3 The cost of the R3 carriageway between Mytna and Tomasovce in the region of Lucenec will be just under €128 million. Other members of the consortium include Prague-based Hochtief CZ and Bratislava-based Hochtief SK and work should start this summer for completion in two years. NDS reported that it had received six bids for the project which went to tender in February 201

Serbia’s Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure has reported that in the past two year period, over 150km of motorways have been built. Ministry said that the new Corridor 10 has been opened, including the Zezeljev rail and road bridge in Novi Sad. The old bridge was built in 1961 and destroyed in 1999 during NATO bombing.

Ghana is giving official approval for a new budget to help develop the country’s road network. The plans call for US$313.5 million to be spend on carrying out 14 major road projects. In all, 381km of roads will be improved. The work will be carried out in Ghana’s Ashanti Region, Brong-Ahafo Region, Eastern Region and Northern Region.

International interest is said to be strong in the tenders for sections of Vietnam’s massive North-South Expressway project. Japanese and Chinese firms have submitted bids for the eight sections of the route now open for tender. In all the expressway will measure some 2,100km in length. The first phase of the project is for 654km of the route with this work being handled in eight separate sections. These contracts will all be handled under the PPP model. The Vietnamese Government will manage a further three

Sierra Leone is opening the tender process for a major bridge project that will connect capital Freetown with its international airport. Building the bridge is expected to cost up to US$2 billion. The project will be handled under the PPP model and will be offered as a 35-year concession package, with the winner able to charge tolls to use the route. Several international firms have already expressed an interest in this ambitious project. At present the most direct connection between Freetown and the nearb

The government of the Austria’s federal Upper Austria state has included an €800 million Linz bypass in its infrastructure programme up to 2030. However, completion of the bypass may not be until the late 2020s, according to media reports. Linz, the capital of Upper Austria and 30km south of the Czech border, is the third-largest city of Austria and with a population of around 205,000 amid a greater regional population of 780,000.

Further progress is being made with the project to build the 17.2km sea crossing in Mumbai. India.

A new budget for road development works has been set for Colombia’s Arauca, Boyaca, Casanare, Cundinamarca, and Santander departments. Improving road links has been set as a priority by the Colombian Government. For the 10 year period from 2019 to 2029, some US1.2 billion is being budgeted for developing road infrastructure as well as tourism facilities in the respective departments. Of this budgets, around 2/3rds will be provided by the Colombian Government. Local authorities will be expected to provide th

A finance package is being secured for the project to widen Route 2 and Route 7 in Paraguay. The package is worth US$500 million in all. The work for the project is being handled by the Rutas del Este consortium. Sacyr holds 60% of the consortium, with Ocho A holding the remaining 40%. The Rutas del Este consortium holds a 30-year concession for the two routes.

A major road widening and upgrade project is to go ahead in the UAE. The project will see the existing Dubai-Al Ain Road being widened and improved along a 17km stretch. At present the section of road features three lanes for traffic. However the US$544.6 million project will see the stretch of road benefiting from three lanes in either direction, doubling capacity from the current 12,000 vehicles/hour. The move is intended to boost safety and reduce delays for drivers. The first phase of the project should