Search

France and Belgium have now agreed on the bilateral exchange of information relating to motoring offences. The two countries now have reciprocal access to car registration files, enabling the authorities to punish offences committed in either country. Belgian drivers caught by speed cameras in France and French drivers caught speeding or running red lights in Belgium will be now face appropriate penalties. Since speed cameras were deployed in France, around one quarter of offences concern vehicles registere

A tender worth US$637.68million (ILS 2.50bn) was recently published by Israel National Roads Company (Ma'atz) for the construction of two bridges in the historic neighbourhood of Motza, near Jerusalem. The tender says the two 800-metre bridges will have three traffic lanes each. According to Ma'atz, construction work for the project is scheduled to begin in 2013. Once completed, the bridges will be connected directly with the Harel Tunnel.

Croatian consortium Konstruktor is starting discussions over the construction of the Bar-Boljari motorway in Montenegro with the country's government. Konstruktor won the tender with a bid of €2.77 billion for the project, which involves building 170km of highway. The Montenegrin government is securing funding of €1.74 billion, while the reminder will be secured by Konstrukotr. Work is expected to start in October 2009.

Asian Development Bank (ADB) will provide a loan worth US$95million to Kazakhstan for the reconstruction of the Western Europe - Western China highway. The 20-year loan will be given with a four-year grace period at interest rate of LIBOR+0.4% for each interest-paying period. The overall cost of the Western Europe-Western China highway project is US$ 112million.

A number of major contractors building highways in Spain are demanding compensation to the value of €1 billion from the Ministry for Public Works for having delayed the approval of these projects for an average of 12 months.

Roads in and around Portugal's capital Lisbon require extensive investment to build new links and upgrade existing sections. The projects include widening the IC19 highway, building the CRIL ring road and construction the new Norte-Sul section and these will require investments of €453 million. The road concession for the IC16 and IC30 highways will cost €256 million and while the last stretch of CRIL linking Pina Manique and Pontinha is attracting an investment of €112 million.

AVERY Weigh-Tronix, one of the world’s biggest suppliers of weighing equipment and solutions, has completed the takeover of UK-based weighing specialists Central Weighing. Peggi Trimble, general manager, industrial division for Avery-Weigh-Tronix (AWT), said the acquisition would give AWT the opportunity to expand its “global reach” and “bring added-value, innovative products to the market by leveraging existing distribution networks”.

German engine manufacturer Deutz has replaced its existing funding arrangements with a new syndicated loan. The working capital facility totalling €160million is being provided by a syndicate of German banks. The credit line is unsecured and runs until June 2017. In addition, Deutz has received a low-interest loan amounting to €90 million from the European Investment Bank. This loan, which is also unsecured, is repayable over a period of eight years with a grace period of two years. Deutz has hedged the in

A change in financing arrangements has been announced by the local authorities in Russian city St Petersburg for the Orlovski Tunnel project. This move is being made due to changes in terms and costs for the project, which is for the construction of a new road tunnel under the city that is intended to alleviate congestion.

Extreme weather conditions cost the EU’s transport system at least €15 billion/year. This is the result of a study carried out by the Finnish VTT Technical Research Centre. The study reveals that the greatest costs incurred are from road accidents, with the associated material and psychological effects. Costs arising from accidents are expected to decrease in volume, although time-related costs attributable to delays are projected to increase. In part, this last effect is due to climate change, which has an