Road Structures

The project to construct the ring road around Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh City is now gathering pace. The project to construct three separate sections of the Ring Road No2 is expected to cost US$660.35 million, according to an estimate by the HCMC Department of Transport. The first section of the ring road runs from Binh Chanh District's Nguyen Van Linh Parkway to National Highway 1's An Lac Intersection. The second section of the new ring road runs between the Binh Thai Intersection in District 9

Tenders for two expressway projects in Thailand will open by mid-2018. The projects are worth around US$1.5 billion in all. The tender process is being handled by the Expressway Authority of Thailand (Exat). Construction of one of the expressways should commence by late 2018 and the route would then be open to traffic by the end of 2021, if all goes to plan. The 10.5km expressway will connect the N2 Nawamin Road with the Kasetsart intersection and will be tolled, with a project traffic volume of 80,000

The tender process for the Mumbai-Nagpur expressway project in India has received strong interest from bidders so far. The Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) is at present reviewing 33 bids for the project. Indian firms account for the majority of the bids but international companies also number amongst the bidders, with several joint ventures having entered the tender process. The Mumbai-Nagpur Super Communication Expressway project will be handled under the engineering

An improved road link will boost transport between Norway and Russia. The two countries have already spend around US$160 million to upgrade the road link that connection between the two. A 25km stretch is connecting Norway’s Sor-Varanger municipality with Russia’s Pechengsky District in the Murmansk Region. This is providing a shorter road route between Kirkenes in Norway and the important port of Murmansk in Russia and will help boost transport and trade between the two countries, as well as for Finland.

According to Highways England, real progress is being seen with the Stonehenge Tunnel project. The UK Government recently announced its plans to construct a twin-bored tunnel measuring around 2.9km for the A303, bypassing historic Stonehenge. The project also includes a section of dual carriageway bypass for Winterbourne Stoke. This scheme forms part of a £2 billion investment in the South West's strategic road network. The project is intended to improve connectivity and ease congestion on this key route.

A loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) worth US$271.3 million will help pay for the construction of road stretches between Kurty and Burylbaytal as well as Uzynagash and Otar. Kazakhstan's state budget will provide a further $47.9 million for the works, with the road sections measuring 85km and 96km respectively and due for completion in 2021.

Vietnam is planning to construct a new expressway in Hoa Binh and Son La provinces in the north of the country. The project is expected to cost US$2.21 billion and will be carried out in two stages under the PPP model. The route runs of 189.5km, with an 85.4km stretch from Hoa Binh to Moc Chau due for completion in 2020. A further 104.1km section will be built later.

Plans are being drawn up in Armenia for the new North-South Highway project.