News

The Ethiopian Roads Authority (ERA) has contracted out two major road projects to Spanish and Chinese companies. China Hunan Hunda Road & Bridge Construction will build the 111.3km Merkote-Delbo junction-Alaba-Sodo road under a contract worth around US$50 million (€39.12 million). Completion is within two and a half years. Spanish joint venture UTE Elsameks Eco Asphalt Ethiopia 35 will handle the 63km Ambo-Welliso project. Completion is due in three years, with funding of around $59 million from the W

Talks are underway between the Serbian Ministry of Construction, Transport and Infrastructure and two Chinese companies for construction and maintenance the two sections of the Belgrade-Pozega part of the E-763 motorway. The two Chinese companies, Shandong Hi-Speed Group and the China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), are hoping to build the 18km stretch between Surcin and Obrenovac, the 31km between Preljina and Pozega and the 103km between Obrenovac and Preljina. No value of the work has been conf

In Nigeria plans are in hand for the rebuilding of two key connections, the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway. Contractor Julius Berger is carrying out the work on the Oshodi-Apapa Expressway and this should be complete before the end of 2014. Meanwhile Lagos State looks set to handle the widening and improvement work required for the Lagos-Badagry Expressway project. At the moment the Lagos-Badagry Expressway features two lanes in either direction, however this is proving unable to c

Data from China reveals that manufacturing output of electric, hybrid and other new energy vehicles in the country has grown by a factor of 11 for September 2014 compared with the same month in 2013. China produced 10,113 units of new-energy vehicles in September 2014. The output of hybrid passenger cars and electric passenger cars stood at 2,369 and 3,589 units respectively. For the period from January to September 2014, Chinese production of these low impact vehicles increased by a factor of four to 41,30

The Colombian Government is keen to retart work on the important La Linea Tunnel link. The project has been delayed for a number of reasons and on a number of occasions since it was first envisaged. Engineering firm Valores y Contratos (Valorcon) has now been suggested as a likely candidate to become a strategic partner to join the Union Temporal Segundo Centenario joint venture that will carry out the La Linea tunnel scheme. Valorcon would provide sufficient cash flow US$68 million, either directly or thro

In the Philippines the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) has authorised 12 public-private partnership (PPP) and other infrastructure projects. However the US$473.5 million North Luzon Expressway-South Luzon Expressway Connector Road project has still to be discussed by NEDA. The board gave its authorisation for the $28.3 million Sen Gil Puyat Avenue-Makati Avenue-Paseo de Roxas vehicles underpass project. The $89.5 million Metro Manila Interchange Construction Project Phase 6 also secured a

Construction work on Indonesia’s Bekasi-Jakarta toll road has recommenced after a break of close to 20 years. The work on the 21km Bekasi-Jakarta toll road was originally started by Kresna Kusuma Dyandra Marga (KKDM), a consortium headed by state-run Waskita Karya, with a 60% share in the package. However work on the project was stopped in the late 1990s due to the Asian financial crisis. The deal for the link will see KKDM operating the toll road, which is costing US$600 million. State funds worth some $2

Germany’s Transport Ministry is to test Building Information Modelling (BIM) systems in two key infrastructure projects. The two pilot projects will be for the road and rail sectors. The technology provides a digital 3D model of the construction project which will allow for the planning, construction and usage of the project to be presented. The BIM system also incorporates deadline and cost planning aspects of construction projects. The German Transport Ministry aims to use the technology to uncover any co

The first of Parsons Brinckerhoff’s regional seminars on how the UK should deliver whole-life asset management of its highways will held in Newcastle today, 23 October. The seminars, called Cracking up or Cracking on, are being run in association with the Chartered Institution of Highways and Transportation (CIHT), whose president, . David Gibby, will introduce the event. The cost of maintaining the country’s roads is constantly under pressure from growing demand on the system and increasingly common extr

Hyder and Parsons Brinckerhoff have been appointed as the design team for the US$5.97 billion East West Link in Melbourne, Australia. The two engineering and management consultancies are in a 50/50 joint venture to provide detailed design and construction support services for the 6.6km Stage 1 work, which is the eastern section, of the project. Together with the proposed western section, the completed East West Link will cost around $7 billion. The toll road will form an 18km cross-city connection ext

New highway investment plans have been made for Russia’s Kurgan and Krasnodar regions. Some 240km of roads and 13 bridges are planned to be constructed in the Kurgan Region (Urals) by 2021. Overall the investment in transport links is estimated at close to US$489 million for the region. Around $464.4 million of this will be provided by the regional budget, while the region expects to receive some $29.3 million from the federal budget. This investment will see 78% of the Kurgan Region’s road network being su

Hyundai is now offering fuel cell-powered cars to customers on a limited basis for selected markets around the globe. The firm’s first ix35 Fuel Cell vehicles have now arrived in the UK for instance. This continues Hyundai’s international roll-out of the world’s first series-production hydrogen-fuelled car. Hyundai is the first car manufacturer to supply these zero-emission vehicles to paying customers in the UK, paving the way for growth of the clean technology, having led its research and development si

Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) hopes to finalise a US$100 million loan with the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) for construction of new roads. The loan, expected to be signed at the end of November, will be for construction of around 400km of new roads and 2km of new bridges. Once the loan is signed, MOPC hopes to open tenders for the projects in December. Paraguay also plans to award infrastructure projects for a record $758 million in the last three months of th