Road Structures

Ghana in West Africa continues to see its economy develop, due to a combination of factors, allowing more investment for roads that will further aid future growth. The Ghanaian Government has plans to invest in building new roads that will connect cocoa growing communities. This programme is being planned by the Ghana Cocoa Board (Cocobod), with some US$150 million intended for road revamping and construction purposes. The work will help with transportation of cocoa beans and aid in the development of the c

Two major new toll road projects are now in planning for Indonesia. One is for the Palembang-Indralaya toll project while the other is for the Soreang-Pasir Koja toll road. The South Sumatra provincial government believes that the Palembang-Indralaya toll road project will cost US$319.2 million, and feature a pay-back period of 18 years and 11 months. The investors in the project include the construction firms, Jasa Marga and Hutama Karya as well as the provincial government-owned Prodexim. Hutama Karya is

The Portuguese road agency Estradas de Portugal (EP) intends to invest €1.33 billion between 2015 and 2020 on the construction of new roads and on the renovation of existing ones. Some €893 million will be allocated on the construction of new roads, notably the tunnel at Marao which is costing €146 million and the €600 million IP3 road connecting Coimbra and Viseu.

In the north west of Russia, plans are in hand for a new highway project. The 80km highway is expected to cost US$172 million. The tender process is now underway and 40km of the highway is to be offered under a concession package. This section of the Syktyvkar - Naryan-Mar (the Nenets Autonomous Area, North-West) highway will be built in the Komi Republic. Construction of the highway is planned to commence in 2015, with completion expected in 2018.

Moscow’s new ring road will provide a major economic boost and tackle congestion - Eugene Gerdner writes The Russian Government has officially started building of the Central Ring Road (CRR), one of the largest infrastructural projects in the modern history of the country. Total volume of investments in the project is estimated at more than US$7.2 billion (300 billion RUB). Building of the road should be completed by the World Cup 2018 and will be carried out as part of the existing state program ‘The de

In Zimbabwe work is being planned for the road connecting the country’s second city Bulawayo with Tsholotsho. This route is of importance as it connects through to the Hwange Game Reserve and also to Victoria Falls, both of which are key tourist destinations within Zimbabwe. The route also connects with Zimbabwe’s border crossing to neighbouring Zambia at Victoria Falls. So far only 50km of this 112km route has been upgraded but the new plans will see the entire route benefiting from major improvements. Wor

A series of road projects is now being funded in Paraguay due to financing being provided by the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB). Paraguay’s Ministry of Public Works and Communications is scheduling new road projects in the eastern part of the country during the first half of 2015. The US$105 million IADB loan will pay for 400kms of new roads and 2km of new bridges, with much of the work being carried out in rural areas.

In India plans are in hand to construct a new tunnel ring road for Mumbai. The project is expected to cost as much as US$14.4 billion. However the Indian Government is keen to reduce the construction costs considerably. The bypass tunnel would be connected with the planned highway linking to Ahmedabad. The aim of the bypass tunnel project would be to help reduce congestion in the city’s historic centre, by diverting through traffic.