News

Argentina has set out plans for a major refurbishment of much of its dilapidated road network. The work will take four years to complete and involves building 2,800km of highways as well as 4,000km of trunk roads. This is a substantial programme of works, which should also deliver around 35,000 much-needed jobs. The Ministry for Transport has drawn up the schedule work the programme, which is expected to cost in the region of US$14.43 billion. The country’s total road system stretches for some 182,000km

Work on five road projects will commence shortly in Ethiopia. The works are for a total of 347km of roads in all and the contracts were awarded by the Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) recently. Three of the projects are for building new roads while the other two involve upgrading and maintaining existing links. The work is worth a total of US$245.45 million, with all of the projects being handled by local contractors that are state-owned. Amhara Roads Works Enterprise will carry out work on the third pha

It wasn’t some city located in the globe’s tropical regions where rainfall is measured in metres each year. It was the northern European metropolis of London. This past week rain hammered down onto the fair city and immediate surroundings, creating flash floods that made driving in some areas very dangerous. But some drivers refused to be deterred from taking to their favourite road. A little rain wasn’t going to stop them – even if it amounted to a month’s rain, 35mm, in only several hours. It bei

Tajikistan is planning a major programme of repairs to its roads and bridges. The aim of the work is to improve connectivity. A total budget of US$335.4 million has been set for the work. Of this budget, $195.65 million will be used to rebuild roads.

Argentina’s Transport Ministry will carry out a major programme for road tenders at the end of 2016. In all work on 15,000km of road projects will be put out to tender. The total estimated cost of these works has yet to be revealed however. A new tender process is also underway for Argentina’s Route 3 project. The tender is for the completion of the highway, with 11 bids having been received. The project has a budget of US$145.2 million. The work on the highway is so far some 36% complete. The project had b

Work on a major tunnel project in Algeria is due for completion shortly. The tunnel will commence carrying traffic during July 2016, although an official inauguration date has not so far been announced. The T4 tunnel will connect Constantine with Skikda and Annaba, which lie to the north and on Algeria’s coast. The 2.5km tunnel forms a section of the East-West highway. To cope with the tricky geological conditions in the area, both umbrella arch and composite roof bolting methods have been used to sup

IRF Geneva is pleased to support the Africa Regional Seminar & Workshop on Performance-Based Contracts (PBC) for Roads which will take place in Arusha, Tanzania on 11th -15th July 2016. The two events are organised by The Ministry of Works, Transport and Communications of Tanzania through the Tanzania National Road Agency (TANROADS), the Roads Fund Board and theTanzania Technology Transfer Center (TanT2) in collaboration with IRF Geneva and other local and international institutions such as the Association

Plans are in hand for a radical new 225km raised highway to connect Bangladeshi capital Dhaka with the city of Chittagong. An elevated highway design is required due to the low-lying terrain along the country’s coast where the highway would run, as the area is prone to frequent flooding. However raising the roadway is also boosting the cost of the project substantially. The work is likely to cost in the region of US$8.91 billion according to estimates. As a result, the Bangladesh Government is having had to

Toll road operator Jasa Marga of Indonesia has added four contracts at a cost of nearly US$2.4 billion to its highway concession portfolio. Jasa Marga hold equity of between 55% and 65% in each project, according to a report by the Jakarta Post newspaper. The contracts are for the 40km Bitung-Manado Highway in Sulawesi, the 99km Samarinda-Balikpapan Highway in Kalimantan, the 38km Malang-Pandaan Highway in East Java and the 75km Semarang-Batang Highway in central Java. Netherlands-based Indonesia I

Malaysia’s South Klang Valley Expressway (SKVE) remains unsold despite being up for sale “for some tie”. The Star newspaper reported unnamed sources saying the SKVE has suffered from low traffic volumes, compared with the Silk Highway, which is now also up for sale. SKVE connects to the 37km Silk Highway – also known as the Kajang Traffic Dispersal Ring Road - at the Universiti Tenaga Nasional interchange, collectively stretching from Seri Kembangan to Pulau Indah. Together, 90km of continuous high

The president of infrastructure group San Miguel has mooted that a 2km toll bridge be built to connect the small island holiday resort of Boracay with the Larger Panay Island. Boracay - just over 10km2 - is an increasingly popular international tourist destination around 315km south of the Philippine capital Manila and 2km off the northwest tip of Panay in Western Visayas island group. The island is blessed with exceptionally white sand beaches and is administered by the Philippine Tourism Authority and

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) and the American Trucking Association (ATA) are holding a joint lunch and policy discussion event. This will mark the 60th anniversary of the law signed by president Eisenhower that kicked-off the funding and construction of the US Interstate Highway System. At present the Interstate network stretches for some 75,000km. The event is being held on June 29th 2016 from 12-15:00 at the National Press Club in US capital, Washington DC. The event wil

Nepalese minister for finance Bishnu Prasad Paudel has highlighted the importance of transport as part of the country’s budget for the fiscal year 2016/2017. Key issues include reviving the economy affected by the earthquake and the supply system disruption and attaining high economic growth through increasing productivity and production. The budget will aid with promoting domestic and external investment and expanding economic activities, increasing income and employment and reducing poverty, in a bid to c

The authorities in Kenya have signed an agreement with a Chinese contractor for a major highway project. The deal is for design and feasibility studies for this proposed highway, which would run from Ruaka to Gitaru. The 16.5km highway section would form part of Nairobi’s Western Bypass, should the project get the official go ahead once the feasibility study has been completed and analysed. China Road and Bridge Corporation (CBRC) will carry out the feasibility study as well as the preliminary design, havin