News

The German government is reported to be willing to take over truck toll operator Toll Collect – ending years of dispute over billions of euros in penalty payments and damage claims. A takeover agreement is still said to be possible before the end of 2012, according to a report in a German national media publication. The contract with Toll Collect expires in 2015. The Toll Collect consortium consists of Germany-based Daimler and Deutsche Telekom as well as France-based Cofiroute.

The Chhattisgarh government in India will receive a US$300 million loan from the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) for upgrading more than 900km of roads by 2017. The project will include works like building new sections, expanding roads to accommodate a two-lane system as well as the construction and strengthening of culverts and bridges. The state will also contribute over $128 million for a total project investment cost of $428.10 million.

An enormous array of new construction projects is being planned for Qatar in the 10 year run-up to the 2022 World Cup, as well as its bid for the Summer Olympics in 2020. A new event, Qatar Projects 2013, will focus on new wave of infrastructure projects being planned. With project tenders and awards expected to reach $ 30 billion a year from 2013 to 2014, Qatar is a key country for the construction sector to focus on. The wave of new projects to be awarded will be comprehensively discussed at the Qatar Pro

In India work is commencing on a new highway project that will boost transportation in the country. The US$135 million project is for a 193km highway linking Malavalli and Pavagada. The World Bank has provided some of the funding through the Karnataka State Highways Improvement Project (KSHIP). The work will be carried out by the Sadbhav-GKC consortium and will take some 30 months. The deal is being offered as a 10 year concession package, under the design, build finance, operate, maintain and transfer (DBF

Work is moving ahead on the plans for a new tunnel link in Hong Kong, with the detailed design work now underway. The Central Kowloon Route (CKR) is now at the detailed design stage and Hong Kong’s Highways Department has launched the three-month phase two public engagement exercise, to collect public views on the design and construction plans. The route will be 4.7km long featuring three lanes in either direction and a 3.9km long tunnel section. Construction work is set to start in 2015 and will be comple

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is supplying a finance package worth US$150 million for the new Bosphorus crossing project in Turkey. Running under the Bosphorus at Istanbul, the new tunnel will connect both European and Asian sides of the city. The EBRD’s $150 million loan completes $1.4 billion worth of financing required for the Eurasia Tunnel project, being built under the Bosphorus straits. Other components of the $1.4 billion financing package for this PPP project include a

The Colombian government and private investors is to invest US$6.66 billion (COP 12tn) in infrastructure projects like motorways, ports and El Dorado airport in the next two years. Around $2 billion (COP 3.6tn) will be spent on motorways, and a further $666 million (COP 1.2tn) on other road works. More than 8,000kms of new motorways will be built in the next six years.

Polish regional government of the Podlaskie Voivodeship has granted a permit for the construction of a ringroad in Augustow. Weather permitting, the US$207.52 million (PLN 659mn) project in the north-east Poland town may commence before the end of 2012 and is to be completed by September 2014. The new road will be 36.3km long and avoid the Nature 2000 protected area.

Parsons Brinckerhoff has won a contract from the Chicago Department of Transportation (DOT) in the US to provide final and preliminary design services for the rehabilitation of Chicago’s Webster Street Bridge. The firm will also be in charge of coordination and community outreach with adjacent property owners, and coordination with the US Army Corps of Engineers, Illinois Environmental Protection Agency, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, and the US Coast Guard. Parsons will offer engineeri

The US is seeing improvements in road safety overall, with a drop in road crash statistics for 2011. The data for 2011 is encouraging and the US Department of Transportation’s National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) has released a new analysis indicating that highway deaths fell to 32,367 in 2011. This marked the lowest level of road related fatalities since 1949, 1.9% decrease from the previous year. Furthermore, this updated 2011 data show the historic downward trend in recent years continu

Italy’s Rome-based anti-mafia police are now investigating road and highway construction work carried out in a number of regions in the country. There is concern that sub-standard materials or construction methods may have been used and that this may cause safety threats. A number of property seizures have already been carried out along with several arrests. In recent years there have been collapses of structures in Italy that have later proven to be built using sub-standard methods and materials. Investiga

The Indonesian Government is on track with its schedule of building new highway links to increase connectivity. The Indonesian Government looks likely to require investment of US$20 billion for infrastructure projects in 2013, but as this exceeds its own resources, private investment and concession packages will help fill the gap. The Ministry of Transportation established the Indonesian Economic Development Acceleration and Expansion Masterplan that set out a template for the projects, many of which are du

Serbian Minister of Construction and Urbanism, Velimir Ilic, claims the China Roads and Bridges Company (CRBC) has verbally agreed to invest €2.5 billion (US$ 4.8bn) to enable the construction of the Corridor 11 motorway. Ilic said that an official CRBC offer to fund and build the key motorway route will be submitted from the beginning of September 2012. The CRBC is already participating in construction of Serbia’s Zemun-Bora bridge. Ilic added that the World Bank (WB) had expressed interest in funding a

The number of Heavy Goods Vehicles travelling through Carlisle’s city centre is estimated to have been reduced by more than a third since the new multi-million euro Carlisle Northern Development Route opened in February 2012. Information from a network of 20 permanent and temporary traffic counters around the city showing ‘before and after’ CNDR road usage is said to be starting to build a more meaningful picture of the impact the new road has had on Carlisle. It shows a marked reduction in both cars and HG

Critics of Europe’s push towards biofuels are pointing out that the strategy is boosting the cost of foodstuffs around the world. The combination of drought and high grain prices are fuelling a growing clamour within Europe that is criticising the policy on boosting biofuel use. This comes on top of strong evidence that biofuel use does not reduce carbon dioxide emissions and may in fact be counter-productive. The claims are nothing new. A World Health Organisation (WHO) report strongly criticised the move