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A German team has developed a new long-life lithium ion battery suitable for use in electric vehicles. Criticisms of existing electric vehicles have highlighted factors such as the need to replace batteries during the life of the vehicle, at substantial cost to the owner. However this new technology is said to be able to deliver 85% of the original battery performance even after being charged 10,000 times, or around 27 years. This development suggests that the batteries could even outlast the vehicles being

Around US$388.39 million (HUF 87bn) will be spent on road repairs in Hungary during 2013, according to State Secretary of the Hungarian Ministry of National Development (NFM) Sara Hegmanne Nemes. As a result, country roads with a total length of some 600kms will be repaired. The project will be financed from EU funds in line with the country's New Szechenyi Plan (USZT). In Jasz-Nagykun-Szolnok county, some 28.4kms of road will be renovated from $14.11 million (HUF 3.18bn). This includes the upgrade of a 5.4

A study by the RAC Foundation in the UK has raised doubts about the usefulness of speed cameras. The research has prompted the RAC Foundation to write to seven local authorities about 21 camera sites where there has been a noticeable increase in the number of accidents since the installation of speed cameras. The study based on speed camera data going back to 1990 identified nine risky camera sites in Merseyside, north-west England and three in Staffordshire and Stoke on Trent, both in central England.

Authorities in the Bashkortostan Republic (Volga) in western Russia have approved a strategy that could see investments of between US$7.77 billion (RUB 249.7bn) and US$19.04 billion (RUB 612.2bn) to develop and improve regional and inter-municipal public roads by 2030.

A Mexican contractor is now carrying out construction work on a new 8km road tunnel in the country’s Guerrero State. The project is expected to cost some US$272.6 million. The work is being carried out by the contractor ICA. The project will help improve connectivity for Acapulco. The country is pushing through a series of major infrastructure works in order to improve connectivity. Mexico’s vehicle population is also growing fast, reflecting the country’s economic development. The country’s capital, Mexico

The tender process will open shortly in Bangladesh for the construction of the new Padma Bridge project. The project is expected to be worth in the order of US$ 1.18 billion. The tender process will open on 30th June 2013 and this will be the country’s biggest infrastructure project. Meanwhile the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will supply a series of loans worth $198 million to Bangladesh, which will be used to upgrade two ports and an existing highway link. The South Asia Subregional Economic Cooperation (

Japan is providing funding for infrastructure works in Tanzania. A grant from Japan will fund the construction of the Tazara flyover. Work on the project is expected to begin in July-December 2013. Meanwhile the Japanese Government is also funding a road project close to capital Dar-es-Salaam. This project comprises construction of a new dual-lane bridge in Gerezani as well as widening a 1.3km section of road that lies between the of Kilwa and Kamata intersections. The road will become a dual carriageway. I

Interest is said to be strong for the Pacífico 1, Pacífico 2 and Pacífico 3 highway concession projects in Colombia. At present the country’s national infrastructure agency, ANI, has 56 expressions of interest for the three highway concessions in Antioquia Department. The projects feature a total estimated investment of US$2.16 billion.

Plans are being worked on for an upgrade to the 2,083km Pan—Borneo highway. The Malaysian Government is discussing options with regard to the highway, which connects Sarawak's Sematan, with Brunei and Sabah's Serudung. The work is expected to require five years to be carried out and would also include constructing link roads. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$3.23 billion and Malaysian contractor Naim Holdings is amongst the leading bidders for the work. The highway project forms part of an