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China Railway Construction has won tenders worth US$2.68 billion (CNY 16.67bn) to develop Chinese highways. The projects will be implemented on a build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. These are said to be inclusive of the 63.47km Liaocheng-Xiajin section of the Shandong Deshang highway, the 72.41km Yutai-Jining section of the Xuzhou-Jinan highway, and the 82.79km Xing'an-Ziyuan highway.

Miodrag Jocic, State Secretary from the Serbian Ministry of Construction, , said the Chinese company Shandong High Speed Group (SHSG) will begin construction of Serbia’s new Corridor 11 motorway in March 2013. The Lajkovac-Ljig section of the project is said by Jocic to be completely ready for construction. The overall project value is estimated at US$333 million. Jocic said that the parts between Surcinska Petlja to Obrenovac in Belgrade, and from Preljina to Pozega will be most likely financed with a conc

The Volgograd region (South) authorities will allot over US$231 million (RUB 7bn) for roads in 2013. A total of $82.64 million will be provided for construction, about $92.56 million for repairing and maintaining regional road facilities.

Work is now underway to set up the tolling system for Algeria’s East-West highway. The project is costing US$1.29 billion and will be carried out by three different consortia, owing mainly to the length of the route. Work for the eastern stretch of the highway will be carried out by a consortium comprising the Italian groups CMC, Proger, Cordioli & C, Ducati Italia and Tecnositaf, and the Algerian groups Rotahem and Imet. This will cost some $378.5 million. Meanwhile the work for the western stretch of the

An innovative project in the UK is aimed at replicating photosynthesis in a bid to produce biofuels. This project is being carried out by a team at the University of East Anglia (UEA), with assistance from the University of Cambridge and the University of Leeds. The intention is to find a simple and efficient process for producing hydrogen, with funding coming from the UK’s Biotechnology and Biological Sciences research council. The hydrogen produced using this technology then be used either as a fuel for i

A new technology developed by the VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland provides drivers with warnings of black ice on the roads. This automatic detection system will warn a driver in advance that a road is dangerous due to the presence of ice. According to VTT, this uses a novel, real-time method of obtaining information on road surface friction and employs data collected from the car’s in-built sensors. This compares the speeds of the drive shafts and axles in an array of driving conditions, with an al

Germany intends to refurbish or replace at least 300 road bridges between now and 2020. It’s reported that this will result in costs of between US$ 4.81 billion (€3.60bn) and $8.92 billion (€6.7bn), based on 2010 prices. Many of the bridges affected are from the 1960s to 1980s and thought no longer suitable for the heavy transport traffic of today. Another claimed factor behind the necessity for the multi-billion dollar investment is that damage resulting from global warming was not taken into account when

A further US$ 9 billion is required to complete the development of the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS), according to the National Economic and Social Development Board of Thailand. The new investment will cover development of roads, special economic zones, border towns, ports and facilities at important checkpoints in the GMS’s six states of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, and the Yunnan Province of China. The North-South Economic Corridor's transport network will, it’s reported, be confirmed onc

The government of Qatar is set to award more than 30 road projects costing a combined US$27.5 billion in 2013, as the country continues to prepare to host the FIFA World Cup tournament in 2022. The upcoming Qatar Projects 2013 conference will discuss details of potential contracts, and the event will feature owners, stakeholders and contractors in the country's project sector. Conference topics include reducing costs for workforce, materials and resources as well as raising efficiencies and transparency in

The new urban tunnel project under construction at Maastricht in the Netherlands will benefit from EU for key safety features. The European Union will provide co-financing of €5 million from the TEN-T Programme to install safety provisions for the on-going implementation of Maastricht’s E25/A2 urban highway tunnel. The work will help ensure the link features high standards of tunnel safety and security and meets the EU’s tough legislation. The project was selected for funding under the 2011 TEN-T Annual Cal

Manufacturers in Brazil are discouraged from investing in electric vehicles due to unfavourable environmental and market conditions, a study claims. Research by Maksen, through a partnership with Insper and Lisbon MBA, states that even though production costs keep decreasing, it is estimated that until 2020 electric engines will cost two times more than traditional fuel combustion engines. According to Deloitte, 65% of Brazilian consumers will only consider investing in electric vehicles if their price is s

Tolling rights for the next 50 years for the third road tunnel in Brisbane, Australia are being sought by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC). QIC's Queensland Motorways are reported to have entered into exclusive talks with the Brisbane City Council about tolling rights for the Legacy Way toll road tunnel in the western suburbs of Brisbane. Under the deal, tolling rights for the Go-Between inner-city traffic toll bridge will also be taken over by Queensland Motorways. The US$1.58 billion (AUD 1.50b