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The authorities in the US state of Ohio continue to investigate new methods of generating revenue for highway investment. The state is facing a funding shortfall of up to US$1.6 billion on its highway maintenance and expansion plans to meet traffic volume needs. As a result, the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) is moving forward with a plan to explore the commercial development of certain state-owned rest areas. The state is pursuing the conversion to service plazas of five of the state’s 59 non-int

Projections suggest that electric vehicle sales in Central and Eastern Europe will hit 60,000 by 2017. The estimate comes from a report by Frost & Sullivan and suggests that Central and Eastern Europe will see growing sales of these vehicles, bringing strong market potential for manufacturers. The Central and Eastern European nations have a population of over 100 million people and a solid macroeconomic environment. The report says EV sales could top 62,000 units by 2017, increasing from approximately 245 u

Dalian city, China, has set out a budget worth some US$2.3 billion for 45 key projects in 2012, including the construction of 300km of rural roads and 254km of trunk roads. Two highway construction projects stretching over 55km are also included: the Zhuanghe–Gaizhou Expressway and Dalian Bay Port Area Expressway. Changshan Bridge's main section is to be completed in 2012.

Mozambique’s road network will benefit from investment by Brazilian mining company Vale, which is to spend US$691million on the Nacala Corridor road project during 2012 to provide a key link to the Moatize II coal mining project, on which it is spending a further $499million. In all, Vale has planned total investments of $4.44billion on the Nacala Corridor and $2.07billion on the Moatize II mining project.

The Mongolian Government is to boost investment in the country’s road network to improve access in major towns and cities and connect outlying areas. Approved projects include repairing 35km of roads and building 25km of paved roads in the capital Ulaanbaater. Other projects include a 104km road between Mangdalgobi and Ulaanbaatar; a 45km road connecting Ondorkhaan with Monkhkaan, Baruun and Urt, and a 127km road between Tosontsengel and Tsakhiur. These will all be built by 2013.

Mott MacDonald has been appointed design consultant for the proposed Raipur–Bilaspur national highway 200 in India. Part of the National Highways Development Programme Phase IV, established by the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI), the new road will connect Raipur in Chhatttisgarh to Chandikohole in Orissa, passing through areas including Bilaspur, Raigarh and Jarsuguda. Costing US$244.2million, the 127km long road is primarily made up of four lanes, with 34km of the highway comprising six lanes

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing substantial funding to boost Serbia’s transport infrastructure. The EBRD's investments in Serbia for the 2000-2011 period total some €3billion for over 180 projects. For 2012 the EBRD is continuing its financial support of Serbia’s infrastructure, with the Corridor 10 highway being one of the key targets.

Design work is underway for the first section of the St Petersburg ring road in Russia, and work will be carried out from Gorskaya to Primorskoe in 2013 at a cost of some US$373million. The 24km road will be widened to six lanes and the road structure will be revamped with completion scheduled for 2015.

The award of a US$177million construction contract to Austria’s Strabag for a transport project in Tanzania’s capital Dar es Salaam in late February has raised the hopes of the city becoming the first in the region to modernise urban transport through elimination of minibuses and private cars from the city centre. This will pave the way for the introduction of improved high- capacity buses (with capacity of 140 passengers) that would use non-polluting energy, hence reducing air pollution in this city of 2.