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The planning process for a major tunnel project in India now looks set to be delayed. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) cancelled the bid process for the US$1.46 billionn Zozila tunnel project on National Highway 1 in Jammu & Kashmir. IRB Infrastructure Developers in India had previously received a letter of award (LoA) to perform construction, operation and maintenance on the tunnel on a design, build, finance, operate and transfer (annuity) basis. No reason was given for the cancellation

Costs are climbing for a new road tunnel connection in Hong Kong. After a reassessment on the Tseung Kwan O-Lam Tin tunnel (Tseung-Lam tunnel) development project, the project cost increased from US$1.05 billion to $1.92 billion. The expected completion time has also been delayed from 2020 to 2021. The 4.2km tunnel will feature two lanes. The project is intended to reduce traffic congestion in Tseung Kwan O area during peak hours. Hong Kong’s Transport and Housing Bureau hopes to obtain approval from the Fi

Approval has been given for the project to build a new parallel link for the Gotthard Tunnel in Switzerland. The second road tunnel has been given the go ahead after 57% of Swiss subjects who voted in a referendum backed the plans. Construction of the new tunnel will start in 2020 and will end in 2027. In addition, the project calls for the current Gotthard road tunnel to be closed for three years for renovation work so as to bring it up to the latest safety requirements. Both tunnels will be open from 2030

In Bangladesh, planning is underway for a new bypass for capital Dhaka. The Joydevpur-Debogram-Bhulta road project will be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The project has been approved by Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). Under the PPP model, the Bangladeshi Government will select a road developer at an unusually higher bid price, which would make the Dhaka bypass road costlier for commuters, according to officials and this is the subject both

Manitou reports strong sales for 2015, with a growth in sales revenues of 3% to reach €1.287 billion. The firm’s EBITDA from recurring operations hit €91 million (7%), a notable gain over the €78 million recorded in 2014. The firm reports a current operating profit of €61 million (4.7%), a growth of 3.9% over the €48 million achieved in 2014. Net income grew to €32 million for 2015, compared to €30 million for 2014. The firm reported a net debt of €66 million, giving a gearing ratio of 13%.

The contract to build a new highway bypass and interchange in Stockholm has been awarded by the Swedish transport authority, Trafikverket. The work will be carried out by Züblin Scandinavia, the Swedish subsidiary of Ed Züblin, in partnership with STRABAG subsidiary STRABAG Sverige. The work involves building a 950m long section of highway, including a complex interchange and is worth some €76 million. The works being carried out by Züblin in the district of Akalla north of Stockholm include sheeting and sh

Work on a major road project now looks set to commence shortly in Ethiopia. The US$221.7 million project will be carried out by a joint venture comprising Indian contractor IL&FS Transportation Networks (IL&FS) and its fully-owned Spanish arm Elsamex. The new highway is for an 84.56km route connecting Agamsa-Bure as well as an 86.1km stretch from Nekempte-Anger Gutin-Andhode. Financing for the work is being supplied by the World Bank and the work is expected to take eight years to complete. IL&FS won the pa

The €230 million N25 New Ross Bypass public-private partnership (PPP) project in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland has reached financial close. Mott MacDonald is technical advisor on the public-private partnership, awarded by the National Roads Authority, otherwise known as Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Work will be carried out by BAM Ireland and Dragados, a construction division of ACS Group, based in Spain. The scheme involves construction of 13.6km of dual carriageway and 1.2km of new or u

Ritchie Bros. started strong with its first Dubai auction of 2016, selling more than US$41 million of equipment and trucks on March 1-2. This was a 54% increase in gross auction proceeds compared to the March Dubai sale last year, the company said. Around $4.5 million worth of equipment went to on-line bidders. The Canadian company shifted more than 2,000 items for over 200 sellers during the two-day unreserved public auction. "People from 71 countries registered for the auction, with buyers from a

Around two-thirds of the Corridor 5c motorway project is expected to be completed by 2020, according to the director of the Bosnian motorways company JP Autoceste. Jasmin Buco said that 120km out of 337km of the motorway are complete. The corridor section, to connect Budapest with Ploce port in Croatia, is taking the most time. He said that the cost of the remaining part of the motorway is expected to be around €2.81 billion.

A series of tenders for major road projects is planned in Paraguay during 2016. The country's Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) will launch tenders with a total value of US$2.27 billion. The Ministry of Public Works and Communications will prioritise works including construction of the first stretch of the Bioceanic corridor, La Costanera Sur road and the 147km-long export corridor. The plans call for projects worth some $1.8 billion to go to tender in the first half of 2016. These projects

A series of major road projects in Brazil now look set to be delayed. Key road widening projects works awarded between 2012 and 2013 may now take longer than the original five year deadline to complete. Six road concession projects were awarded in the period, totalling over 3,000km of roads to be extended or upgraded. The contracts require that at least 10% of the planned work must be complete before any tolls can be charged. This initial phase has been carried out, but later stages to expand the roads have

Work on a new dual lane highway connecting La Paz with Santa Cruz in Bolivia is set to cost US$1 billion. The work will be complete by 2019 and the route will link La Paz with Santa Cruz, running through Cochabamba. The Bolivian Ministry of Public Works says that this project will be carried out in addition to previous developments to the road system between La Paz and Oruro. The project to connect different regions includes the 28km double lane highway for El Sillar, as well as tunnels and viaducts. This

Consultancy McKinsey and Company will launch its report Perspectives on the Construction Equipment Industry in Europe during the upcoming bauma exhibition in Munich. The report will be presented at joint seminar with the CECE – Committee for European Construction Equipment – in the bauma fairgrounds on April 13 when leading McKinsey analysts and CECE officials discuss main trends and challenges facing manufactures and buyers of equipment.

Astaldi, a global construction company based in Rome, has won a contract worth nearly €222 million for construction of Poland’s S7 dual carriageway between Naprawa and Skomielna Biala. The contract, awarded by the Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA), includes construction of a 2km tunnel under the Lubon Maly massif, 38 bridges and viaducts and three motorway services. There will also be 25km of access roads and two junctions. The north-south S7, when completed, will ru