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A total of 9,159 people were caught driving without a licence in Belgium during 2012. This is well over double the 3,991 people found to be driving without a license in 2000. The figures include people who have never obtained a licence and those who are driving with a provisional license but failing to abide by the rule of the provisional licence. The fines imposed in Belgium for not having a licence vary from €1,200 to €12,000.

Construction of Vietnam’s US$1.4 billion Da Nang-Quang Ngai expressway is now underway. The near 140km-long expressway will have four lanes and a speed limit of 120km/hour. It will link economic hubs like Dung Quat (Quang Ngai), Da Nang-Chu Lai (Quang Nam) and Nhon Hoi (Binh Dinh). The expressway will also have a monitoring centre, a maintenance centre and a service centre. The Vietnamese government, the World Bank and the Japan International Co-operation Agency have provided official development assistan

The government of Oman has approved 13 road projects costing US$1.39 billion (OMR 535.5 million). Fidrichi Sterling and Larsen and Toubro (L&T) received deals worth $344.51 million (OMR 132.6 million) and $352.05 million (OMR 135.61 million) respectively to build the fifth and fourth package of Al Batinah Expressway. Consolidated Contractors Company (CCC) won a $321.91 million (OMR 124 million) contract to build the 45km sixth package of the same key Expressway.

The Pennsylvania state Senate has approved a transport funding bill worth US$2.3 billion to restore ageing bridges and highways, and to improve mass transit throughout the U.S. state. The funding will be allocated for all transport modes, covering roads that cross rivers and streams, superhighways, gravel roads, seaports, airports, bike paths and rail lines. Of the total funding, $1.65 billion is set aside for repairing roads and bridges, while around $475 million is allocated for mass transit systems.

Colombia's fiscal policy council Confis has approved more than US$700 million of funding for the construction of the 31.8km road connecting Mulalo and Loboguerrero in Valle del Cauca. Following the fiscal approval, Treasury minister Mauricio Cardenas has given the green light to the project which will benefit over 147,000 people and create 4,773 jobs. In total, Confis has approved $2.75 billion (COP 5.3 trillion) for infrastructure projects. Some of the sum will also be invested in the connection between C

The Central American Bank for Economic Integration (CABEI) is providing a US$400 million loan to Guatemala for rural road construction. This follows on from a $200 million loan being provided to Guatemala by the World Bank and a $237 million loan from the IADB. The Guatemalan Government is also working on upgrading CA9 Norte highway to make it reach Mayuelas completing an 89km extension at a cost of $240 million. The authorities also have plans to replace 60-70 bridges with new structures.

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has revealed that a Transportation Infrastructure Finance Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan worth US$474 million will help pay for construction of the replacement for the current Goethals Bridge that connects Elizabeth, New Jersey with Staten Island, New York. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey (PANYNJ), which operates the bridge, estimates that more than $33 billion in regional goods passes across the bridge each year. An average of 74,000 vehicles/day cross t

Data from the US Department of Transportation's National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) shows that highway deaths increased to 33,561 in 2012, an increase of 1,082 over the figures for 2011.The official Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) data reveals that the majority of the increase in deaths, some 72%, occurred in the first quarter of 2012. Most of those involved were motorcyclists and pedestrians. This newly released data marks the first increase in road related fatalities in the US

The board of Guangxi LiuGong Machinery has promoted Zeng Guang’an to the position of president of Guangxi LiuGong Group. Meanwhile, Zeng is still the vice chairman of LiuGong Machinery. Under the leadership of Zeng, LiuGong is now one of the fastest growing, global, full-line construction equipment companies in the world and was ranked as the 20th largest construction equipment manufacturer in the world.

The Serbian Government is considering a loan from China’s Export-Import Bank, which would pay for the construction of the E-763 highway. The bank looks set to give its approval for the €223 million loan, which would pay for 90% of the construction work for the E-763, or Obrenovac-Ljig, highway. The loan would be approved over a 20 year repayment period and a five year grace period at the fixed rate of 2.5%/year. Meanwhile tendering will open for completion works on Serbia’s Pirot-Dimitrovgrad highway unti