Road Structures

In Uganda planning is underway for the upgrade of the Kampala-Jinja route. Preparations are being made for a new tolled highway connecting with capital Kampala. The upgrade will see the route being widened with four lanes for much of the length, six lanes on the approach to Kampala and up to eight lanes where vehicle densities will be heaviest to carry the capital’s traffic. The construction work is expected to cost some US$74 million and the new link will connect with the existing Kampala-Entebbe highway.

The Doka Group continues to expand its operations with the acquisition of an Australian company. Called Lubeca, this firm was the former formwork technology department of its previous owner, the Australian contractor Grocon. Doka acquired the formwork patent for the Lubeca Jumpform system, along with employees and a project portfolio from Grocon. The acquisition will strengthen Doka’s presence in Australia through its new Melbourne-based subsidiary operation, as well as in the Middle East and East Asia. Dok

Widening work to a 453km section of Brazil’s BR-163 highway will be carried out by the consortium, Rota do Oeste. The firm is the current operator of the highway and is receiving a US$298.84 million loan from national development bank BNDES to fund the necessary widening of the route. The deal has been approved by the Brazilian land transport agency, ANTT. The funds will also be used to provide maintenance work for this section of the BR-163 highway.

Austrian contractor Strabag will lead the consortium constructing a stretch of the S7 expressway in Poland. Strabag is teaming up with Heilit+Woerner for the project to build the Trasa Nowohucka section of the S7 linking Rybitwy and Igołomska and lying to the east of Kraków. Construction work is commencing in August/September 2014 and the contract is worth around €130 million. The consortium is handling the upgrading and construction work for some 18.6km of roads in all. The work includes widening a 4.5km l

In Vietnam work is now underway on a major new highway that will connect Ho Chi Minh city, Long An and Dong Nai. This 57km highway is currently the biggest road project in Vietnam’s southern region. The four-lane highway will have a speed limit of 100km/h and the project is costing some US$1.6 billion. The project is due for completion in 2018.

A legal challenge has been made to a key road and tunnel project in the Australian state of Victoria. The proposed East West link project is worth some US$5.63 billion in all. Local authorities are planning legal cases at the Supreme Court against the project, which includes a 4.4km stretch of tunnel. The package of works for the tunnel section is due to be signed in November 2014, with this link planned to open to traffic towards the end of 2019. It is not clear at this stage if the legal challenge will de

Work on Angola’s Luanda-Soyo highway section is being financed from Italian sources. The Italian export credit agency and credit insurer SACE is guaranteeing a US$221.8 million credit line to Angola's Ministry of Finance for completing works on the final stretch of the Luanda-Soyo highway. The work on the project is being carried out by Italian civil engineering firm CMC Ravenna. The project itself is worth some $336.8 million. Meanwhile BNP Paribas is acting as Sole Structuring Bank and Agent Bank for the

In the southern German city of Nuremburg plans are being made for work to replace three old concrete bridges. A feasibility study into the proposed work will now be carried out. The three pre-stressed concrete bridges will have to be demolished and replaced with new structures. In all, the work is expected to cost some €100 million.

Plans are now in place for a new bridge that will link Uruguay and Argentina. The project will be carried out by Chinese contractor China Dalian International Cooperation Group (CDIG). The private agreement signed by CDIG will see the firm constructing a bridge connecting Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay with Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. The work is expected to cost up to US$829 million to complete and when the bridge is open it will make a significant reduction in journey times from Montevideo and Bu

In Russia the completion date for the Suzdalsky Prospekt project in St Petersburg has been set for June 2015. The works will see Suzdalsky Prospekt linking with the road to Kamenka. The project is costing some US$124.2 million. The project is being carried out by contractor Dendorstroy-2, with construction having commenced in 2011. The project was originally scheduled to finish in 2013 but was postponed for a year due to issues relating to financing.