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Infrastructure in Indonesia looks set to benefit from a series of a key highway and bridge projects, now gathering momentum. The country’s State Enterprises Ministry has announced plans for new road building worth a colossal US$25.66 billion. Work on a key highway stretch will commence in September 2014. This highway will connect provinces across the island of Sumatra, with the project looking set to be handled by the state-run firm Hutama Karya. The Indonesian Government has granted Bengkulu $1.22 billion

Japan’s National Police Agency reports an improvement in road safety for the first half of 2014. The report highlights a drop in road related fatalities to 1,925 for the first six months of 2014, a fall of 79 compared with the same period for the previous year. Of those killed in road crashes during the first six months of 2014, a worrying 995 were aged 65 or older. Meanwhile, the number of people injured in road accidents reached 342,656. There were 277,591 road crashes in Japan during the first six months

The project to construct a connecting road between the South Luzon and North Luzon expressways in the Philippines now looks set to be delayed. The US$409 million contract previously awarded to a joint venture comprising Philippine National Construction Corp (PNCC) and Metro Pacific Investments Corp (MPIC), has been withdrawn for unspecified reasons. The country’s Department of Public Works and Highways says that the contract has been returned to the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) for new

Construction work on the Lajkovac-Ljig and Obrenovac-Ub sections of Serbia’s Corridor 10 highway are said to be on-track. The stretch will be completed by April 2017 and when the section opens to traffic, it will help reduce journey times with the drive from Belgrade to Zlatibor taking just 90 minutes. He said that delays on the road are not expected. The project value has not been disclosed.

In Portugul official road safety statistics show a continuing improvement. The country’s Road Safety Authority (ANSR) has reported that between January and July 2014, fatalities from car crashes dropped 17% to 254 compared with the same period in 2013. There were recorded 65,291 car crashes in Portugal within January and July 2014, which resulted serious injuries to 1,117 and minor injuries in 19,150.

Work is starting on a new bridge that will span the Zambezi River and link Zambia with Botswana. The bridge will be located at Kazungula and will carry both road and rail connections. The structure will be some 923m long and the project is expected to cost in the region of US$200 million, with work including the construction of access roads as well as the border posts on either side of the Zambezi River. This new link will replace the existing ferry connection, improving transportation between Zambia and Bo