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Mexico’s massive infrastructure programme is broadly on track for completion. The country’s Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT) has confirmed that 80% of the projects included in the national infrastructure plan (PNI) between 2014 and 2018 are already under development. There are 52 major road infrastructure projects within the PNI. Of these, 17 of the new highways have been completed. A total of 17,000km of new roads have been built in Mexico since 2012. The PNI programme also includes improv

Work is underway on the second phase of a new highway in China. The route connects Xihua and Zhoukou with Zhengzhou Airport. The new highway is due for completion in 2017 and will be 45km long, with a maximum speed limit of 120km/h. The six lane highway is costing US$805 million to construct.

Panama’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) is spending some US$2.96 billion during its present administration on infrastructure projects. These include the construction of a fourth bridge over the Panama Canal, which will link the Albrook district and the North Corridor. There are four road widening projects planned. The link between the Las Americas bridge and Arraijan will be expanded to eight lanes and the Panamericana road between La Chorrera and San Carlos will be expanded to six lanes. The Omar Torrijos

The authorities in Bangkok are planning a tough safety drive in a bid to reduce the city’s high road death toll. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) promised to reduce the number of traffic offences by holding road awareness campaigns. In 2014, a total of 27,460 road crashes were reported in Bangkok, resulting in 262 deaths, 348 critical injures and 11,225 slight injuries. Thailand’s road death toll is high overall with 6,215 reported killed on its roads during 2014, along with 2,634 serious injur

Washington State in the US is considering plans to develop infrastructure in the city of Spokane. The spending however hinges on whether the state will opt to increase local fuel taxes, which could raise the funds necessary. If the increased taxes are voted for, the extra funds could pay for transit and road projects worth over US$1 billion in the Spokane area. Around $879 million would be used for the completion of the North Spokane Corridor. Between Spangle and Colfax, while there would be upgrades to US

Some events defy understanding, many of which happen on the road. But this accident in South Africa really puts gives the imagination a workout. Nobody was injured when a car came crashing through the roof of a small house in Durban, according to the Times Live newspaper. Click here for the report. A person was asleep in a room close to where the vehicle buried itself into the home. The driver, too, escaped and claimed he recalls going over some kind of ramp that launched the car into the air and over the

Malaysia’s West Coast Expressway company has reported that it will inject nearly US$425 million into its West Coast Expressway project. Total cost of the West Coast Expressway, which will stretch 233km between Banting in Selangor state and Taiping in Perak state on the Malaysian peninsula, is expected to be around $1.56 billion. The highway will be built over five years as a build-operate-transfer project with a concession of 50 years, The Star newspaper reported in February 2014.

Estructura Plural SAC 4G has been awarded the motorway concession Autopista Mar 1 in Colombia. The 176km road between Fernando Gomez Martinez Tunnel will run across San Jeronimo and Santafe, reaching Canasgordas. The project will cost US$565.12 million and have 41 bridges and 17 tunnels. The existing road will be improved and a second lane added between Medellin and Santa Fe. Meanwhile, Colombian construction firm Construcciones El Condor and the national infrastructure agency ANI have signed a pu

Bangladesh has formally signed a US$705 million deal with China Communication Construction to build a multi-lane road tunnel underneath the Karnaphuli River in Chittagong. Road Transport and Bridges secretary Man Siddique along with the government’s Road Transport and Bridges minister Obaidul Quader signed the contract with Liu Qitao, chairman of China Communication Construction. The signing took place in Beijing, according to a report in the Bangladesh newspaper The Independent.

Malaysian prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the toll-free Pan Borneo highway should trigger economic growth in Sarawak state which has been held back by the lack of a good road network. Razak was speaking at the signing of a memorandum of understanding between federal government officials, officials from the state of Sarawak and infrastructure company Lebuhraya Borneo Utara Sdn. The event took place in the federal administrative capital Putrajaya, around 25km from the capital city Kuala L

Future vehicles will no longer rely on power from internal combustion engines as the supply of oil dwindles and as climate change issues force a reduction in carbon dioxide emissions. According to a report from IDTechEx, there are three major technological trends for vehicles that are becoming increasingly important. These trends are shaping the development of new vehicles, targeting them at specific customer types and also the applications for these vehicles.

If you want to abandon your car, there is one sure way to do it and not be bothered by police, local town authorities and nosy neighbours complaining about seeing an abandoned vehicle. The photo, taken in the Canadian province of British Columbia, shows you need only find a lonely field, leave your vehicle and walk away

Plans are in hand in Bolivia for 10 road projects. The state-owned road operator ABC has started the projects, which involve investments of more than US$588 million and extend for over 493km. China Harzone Industry Corporation is handling the $66.1 million project to develop the 38.06km Final Avenida Petrolera-Paracaya scheme in Cochabamba. Sinopec International signed the deal for the 58.8 km Puente Yapacani-Puente Ichilo project. Other projects include the 59km Lluchu-Ravelo road (linked to Santa Fe), whi