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In Rwanda a road rehabilitation project will see the rebuilding of the route connecting Huye and Kitabi. The work on the 53km road will be supervised by Rwanda’s Ministry of Infrastructure and is due for completion by 2017. A loan worth SU$10 million from the Arab Bank for Economic Development (Badea) will help to finance the work on the road, which lies in Rwanda’s Southern Province. Badea is a financial institution owned by 18 Arab countries members of the League of Arab States (LAS). In all, the project

In Macedonia a new 50km section of highway will be constructed, with €574 million of financing coming from China's Export-Import Bank. The Exim Bank credit line to Macedonia will be used to build a the highway connecting Skopje and Stip. The new route will also link Stip with pan-European transport corridor 10. The loan will carry an interest rate of 2% and will have a 20 year term with a five year grace period. Macedonia is close to completing work on the corridor 10 road project, which is worth €300 milli

The Ukrainian Government says that the country will see US$26.23 billion of road and highway construction work carried out in the 2013-2018 period. This construction plan forms part of the country’s five-year state economic programme. Financing will come from an array of sources. Funds for the projects will come from private investors, credit facilities, overseas financial organisations and the national budget.

Huge investment is being seen in the Gulf Region, with some US$109 billion being spent on infrastructure development according to figures from Ventures Middle East. The Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) nations are spending on improving roads and highways. Saudi Arabia is carrying out work to build roads and bridges (as well as rail) infrastructure worth $77 billion. Meanwhile the UAE is spending $58 billion on transport infrastructure and Qatar is investing $35 billion. In addition, Oman is spending close to

The authorities in India are continuing the process of investment in toll road projects and general road construction. Plans call for some US$27 billion of road projects to be awarded in India by the end of October 2013. Included in the plans are four toll road projects, such as for construction of the Agra-Lucknow expressway, an eight lane highway that will be carried out by Uttar Pradesh Expressways Industrial Development Authority. So far in 2013, only 479km of projects have been awarded by the National

Plans are now in hand to develop the highways of Nicaragua, a Central American country that has suffered from poor infrastructure investment in the past. The funding will come from the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Some US$91.5 million has been approved by the IADB to finance highway projects in Nicaragua between 2014 and 2018. While this sum may not seem as substantial as the investment being seen in other countries around the world, it will make an enormous difference to this small Central Ameri

A new move between Palfinger and SANY will see the two firms further developing their strategic partnership. The agreement has been made in principle to expand the strategic partnership between the Austrian and Chinese companies. The firms now intend to buy a 10% stake in each other. The link between the two groups will likely be reflected in the supervisory boards of both organisations. Now that an agreement in principle has been reached, the final contracts will be drafted in the weeks to come. The implem

EU funding will help with construction of Uganda’s Mbarara Bypass and upgrades to the Kampala Northern Bypass. The US$151 million in financing will help improve the country’s transportation. This move should help trade between Rwanda, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo, South Sudan and Burundi to the Mombasa seaport in Kenya.

The Mozambique government will build a road to link between the country and neighbouring Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo), Zimbabwe, Malawi and Zambia. According to Cadmiel Muthemba, the Housing and Public Works Minister, works on the US$400 million project are due to commence from February 2014, with funds for the project provided by a loan extended by Exim Bank of China.

The Czech road and motorway management company RSD has given permission to construction firms to begin road building projects worth over €966 million (CZK 25 billion). The projects originate from the years 2008 to 2010, when expensive contracts were signed after only two subjects having taken part in tenders. The top three most expensive projects include the R49 road between Hulin and Frystak worth €302.26 million (CZK 7.8 billion), the motorway section D11 Osicky-Hradec Kralove worth €144.15 million (CZ

Spanish researchers believe they have found a new way of measuring road-side air quality with an infrared camera system that can remotely measure vehicle emissions by scanning the unique infrared signatures of various pollutants such as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, and so on.

America’s federal highway trust fund faces running out of money in 2015: a move that will have a “devastating impact” on states that rely heavily on federal funds for their road maintenance and construction needs, transportation officials warned the US Congress this week. Highway contractors, state transportation officials and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce all went to Washington this week to lobby Congress, arguing for a rise in the rate of federal gasoline tax to help boost the coffers.