News

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is to loan the Uzbekistan government US$220 million for highway reconstruction projects. The Uzbekistan authorities will use the funds, which will cover 25 years and come with a five-year grace period, to reconstruct sections of the 75km Tashkent – Osh highway. The two-lane asphalt coating will be replaced with a four-lane cement concrete coating.

The construction of the Istanbul-Izmir motorway in Turkey is set to be delayed by at least 18 months due to insufficient funds being in place to complete the major new highway. Turkey's Transport and Communication Minister Binali Yildirim has warned the Nurol-Özaltn-Makyol-Astaldi-Yüksel-Göçay joint venture, who are responsible for the construction of the motorway, that it will be in breach of the project’s contract, signed in October 2010, imposing a strict completion deadline of five-and-a-half years.

Works to widen a section of the CA-2 Occidente motorway in Guatemala will cost US$380.88 million (GTQ 3bn). The project, awarded to Brazilian construction firm Norberto Odebrecht, will see the key route widened to four lanes between Cocales and the border with Mexico. Brazil's BNDES bank and the Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) are financing the works, which is due to begin in February 2013.

A new, short video shot on in Dublin shows the effort and resource put into a large-scale 'Mandatory Alcohol Test' on a busy street in the city. Nearly 200 people were tested (car drivers, motorcyclists, bus and van drivers) during the hour-long operation. There was not a single positive test provided - and this backs up new statistics from Ireland that show the success of their decision to introduce a lower alcohol limit for drivers in October 2011. The detection rate in 2007 was one in 25. Today it stands

Ammann and Gujarat Apollo Industries Ltd (GAIL) have signed binding agreements which will see Ammann Group pay around €44 million to acquire a 70% share in the Indian company’s plant and machine business. Said to be the Indian market leaders in road construction equipment, GAIL’s core products include road pavers, asphalt mixing plants, bitumen sprayers and compaction machines. The joint venture is seen by the Ammann Group as underscoring its global growth strategy while, crucially, heralding its entry into

The FeRRM13 event is now becoming repackaged as FIRM13 and will showcase research on multi modal transport infrastructure. This key infrastructure research meeting will be held from 4th-6th June 2013 in Brussels. With the theme of "Advanced and Innovative Construction and Maintenance", the conference FIRM13 will feature updates on the coming Infravation 2014 project and other key targets for FEHRL projects. The latest progress on Forever Open Road programme and FORx4 initiative on transport infrastructure w

Plans are being worked on that will attempt to reduce traffic congestion in Algerian capital Algiers. The city has a chronic traffic problem, with some 1.7 million registered vehicles circulating on a road network with insufficient capacity. Blocked routes and bottlenecks compound the problem in many areas so a new plan aims to address these issues by building new major and minor roads, underpasses and flyovers. Also included are multi-storey car parks, park and ride schemes and coach stations. The new plan

New advances in electric motor development could lead to more efficient electric vehicles being developed. Japan’s Tohoku University has been working on switched reluctance motors that feature an axial gap design and do not require permanent magnets. These can deliver the same torque as motors featuring permanent magnets however, a key point as the cost of the rare earths needed in permanent magnets has increased. Meanwhile Nissan said that sales of its Leaf model are now growing, with 46,000 having been bo

A new project by the Government of Nepal recently connected Mugu a distant, mountainous and remote district of Karnali Zone to the country’s road connectivity and has been the 73rd district of the 75 in road connection. The road was opened officially by Nepal’s prime minister, Dr Baburam Bhattarai, while The minister for Physical Planning and Transport Management Hrideyesh Tripathy, finance minister Barha Man Pun, chief of army staff Gaurav Shumser Rana and vice-chairman Dipendra Bahadur Chhetri of Nationa

The creation of a new National Asset Research Centre of Excellence in Brisbane aimed at improving Australian roads and their management is the key feature of a new partnership agreement. The new agreement between Transport and Main Roads (TMR) Queensland and the ARRB Group is said to demonstrate “committed funding for capability development, research and technology transfer”, while also being “precisely aligned to the strategic goals of both organisations”. Replacing a partnership agreement made in 2007, th

The European Commission (EC) is encouraging the Hungarian authorities to implement a congestion charge scheme in capital Budapest by 2015. The move is required so that the Hungarian authorities can repay the EC with loans used to fund the construction a new line for Budapest’s underground metro system. The Hungarian Government earlier failed to pass a proposal to introduce the congestion charge scheme in Budapest but the EC is pushing for this scheme to be implemented by 2015.

A clean vehicle policy is being pursued by the Costa Rican Ministry of Energy and Telecommunications and the Public Transport Council. Under the plan some 4,000 buses and 12,000 taxis in Costa Rica will be run on clean fuels by 2014. Firms running these 16,000 buses and taxis will have to renew their concessions in 2013 and the Costa Rican Ministry of Energy and Telecommunications and the Public Transport Council have developed a policy that will encourage the use of clean fuels as Costa Rica wants to becom

A new tender has been offered for the construction of the Debica-Tarnow section of the A4 motorway in southern Poland. The Polish General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) decided to call a new tender after deciding not to continue working with the consortium of Hydrobudowa, SIAC Construction, PBG, and Aprivia. GDDKiA is reported to have sought a fresh tender due to perceived delays in work on the Debica-Tarnow section. SIAC is said to be prepared to complete the investment, provided GDD