Road Structures

Thailand is setting out plans for a major development of its transport network. The country’s government has been discussing plans for five special economic zones, as well as the new transport links that will connect these areas. The five special economic zones have been proposed in Trat, Tak, Songkhla, Mukdahan and Aranyaprathet. For Songkhla's Padang Besar and Sadao customs checkpoints, a 64km highway project costing some US$743.85 million is being considered that will run from the Malaysian border in Sad

In Sri Lanka work is planned for a major highway upgrade project. The work will see a 151.3km stretch of the A5 highway being widened and improved in a deal worth some US$140 million. The work is being planned by Sri Lanka’s Government and is for the stretch of A5 between Badulla and Chenkaladi. Improvement work on the Peradeniya-Badulla section of the A5 highway has now been completed and this latest project is the next phase of the A5 upgrade. The project is being partly financed by the OPEC Fund for Inte

Work on a key bridge link in Vietnam is behind schedule and the construction team will have to speed up work. Delays have hit the project to build the Vam Cong Bridge, which will span the Hau River. The firms building the bridge, South Korean contractor, GS E&C and Hanshin E&C has been told by Vietnam's Transportation Ministry to accelerate construction efforts. The bridge is due for completion by September 2017. GS E&C and Hanshin E&C secured the bridge project in June 2013 and the work is worth some US$23

Spanish contractor Sacyr is carrying out key contracts to construct new connections in Chilean capital Santiago. The work is worth some US$255 million in all. The larger of the two projects is for the second phase of the Plan Santiago Centro Oriente scheme, which includes rebuilding the Perez Zujovic roundabout and building a section of tunnel. The company is already working on phase one of the Plan Santiago Centro Oriente scheme. Meanwhile the smaller project is for upgrade works to the connection between

Construction company Sogea-Satom will carry out the US$101 million contract to upgrade Cameroon’s West Doula highway. The firm is a subsidiary of French contractor Vinci. The work is for a 13km stretch of Cameroon’s RN3 National Road and will take 30 months to complete. The work is being financed by the French development agency (AFD). Sogea-Satom previously won a contract to build a bridge on the RN3 route.

The work on the feasibility study for the proposed Java bridge connection in Indonesia is proving favourable so far. However this project is likely to be highly expensive and its future depends on decisions yet to be made by the country’s government. So far some 19 companies have been involved in the work on the feasibility study. If the project gets the go ahead, it could conceivably cost some US$13.05 billion to construct. Around 60% of the route would cross land but the most costly section would be the 4

In Colombia a consortium will carry out the Perimetral Oriental road contract. The US$463.4 million contract is for a 153km section of road connecting Cundinamarca and Meta, which when complete will cut journey times by two hours compared with the current route. The consortium comprises Israeli company Shikun & Binui and local firm Grodco and Colombiana Inversiones en Infraestructura, which is owned by Spanish company Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas (FCC). The work will take four years to carry out an

In Russia’s capital Moscow, a key viaduct is now open to traffic, which will help reduce the city’s chronic congestion problem. The viaduct is 820m long by 15m wide and carries traffic over the Dmitrovskoe Highway. The work on the viaduct included repairing a 367m long stretch as well as installing noise attenuation barriers along its sides. Future plans for the city include the construction of a further viaduct.

In the Netherlands work on the A9 highway contract will be carried out by the IXAS Zuid-Oost consortium. The consortium includes the companies Heijmans, Ballast-Nedam, Fluor and 3i Infrastructure. The €700 million contract is for the A9 highway between Diemen and Holendrecht and includes building a 3km tunnel as well as a bridge spanning the Gaasp River. The deal includes the 20 year management and maintenance package.