News

Moscow authorities are preparing to choose a contractor for the construction of eight viaducts that will join Kutuzovsky prospect and Rublevskoe highway within the city’s borders. The project is estimated at to be worth US$302.94million (RUB 9.60bn). Bids are accepted until 14 December, 2012, with a winner announced four days later.

The total damage caused by road cargo theft in Germany last year hit €4billion (US$5.11bn), according to police. Almost 1,900 trucks were stolen in Germany in 2011, with the damage of road cargo theft EU-wide coming to €9bn (US$11.46bn). Police say that the culprits are often well informed and stolen goods are moved very quickly. White goods, computers and other electronics are the most likely wares to be stolen from trucks.

Proposed simplifications to the heavy goods vehicle tax in France were unveiled by Transport Minister Frédéric Cuvillier during the national road transport federation’s (FNTR) conference. A bill will be tabled before the end of 2012, and the system is scheduled to be in place from July 2013. It will take the form of a flat rate tax, which will include the administrative cost of managing the tax, with the amount set by each region (there will be an interregional rate for interregional transport).

Morocco’s Transport and Infrastructure Ministry has plans in hand to expand the country’s road network in a bid to boost the economy. Safety improvements will also ensure that the road network is safer, with Morocco instituting new road safety policies. Estimates suggest that up to 45,000km of roads and as well as 208 bridges will be required to provide access to the country’s rural areas. Extending the road network would cost up to US$5.8 billion, according to a study carried out for the Transport and Infr

Some US$189.2 million is being budgeted by the authorities for 2013 in the Irkutsk Region of Siberia for road repairs and maintenance, as well as new construction. This represents an increase of 12% from the 2012 budget. Key improvements include replacing gravel on federal highways and also building bypasses around some of the major urban areas in the region.

The Gulf region has bridge and road projects valued at US$121.3 billion in the planning stage or already on going. In Bahrain, there is $2 billion worth of road and bridge projects underway in various phases, and another $8 billion in Oman. In Kuwait, the government will be spending $9 billion for road projects in the coming two years, while road projects valued at $17 billion are said to be in ‘cruise control’ in Qatar as the country prepares for the 2022 football World Cup. Around $26.9 billion has been

A highway project looks set to face extended delays in its construction due to the discovery of contaminated land. A two year highway project planned in the canton Valais will now take considerably longer to complete due to the unexpected discovery of mercury contamination on the site. The contamination is historic and appears to be the result of disposal carried out by a local chemicals firm in the 1930s, when there were few controls over what could be dumped. The company had tipped its chemical waste into

Indonesia’s Government is setting a US$20 billion budget for transport and energy sector development. The Indonesian Government plans to build 559km of new roads as part of a new transport infrastructure programme. Indonesia’s capital Jakarta faces a growing problem due to severe traffic congestion, which is particularly intense at peak periods. Increasing vehicle numbers in the city mean that the existing traffic problem is fast getting worse. The authorities are looking at policies to address the issue.

Around 10,000km of Russia’s roads will be repaired annually from 2014 according to the country’s Federal Highway Agency. The federal road network would fully meet quality requirements in Russia by late 2017. Currently, Russian authorities repair 6,600km per annum, around 1.5 times less than required. Only about 39% of the road network is said to be in a satisfactory condition.

New Zealand’s Transport Ministry has announced plans for a US$10.3 billion program to improve public transport and roads. Under the three-year plan, authorities for the public transport system, state highways and local roads will receive $1.36 billion, $4.09 billion and $3.29 billion, respectively, for upgrades.