Skip to main content

Ecuador road project restarting

Work on a major road project in Ecuador now looks set to restart now that a financing package for the work has been determined. The Circunvalacion Norte ring road in the city of Cuenca is expected to cost US$520 million, with the plans calling for three lanes in either direction along a 6km section between Guangarucho and the Panamericana Norte motorway. The route will measure 50km in all and will be tolled, with the project now looking set to be carried out under a concession model. The project is not allo
May 8, 2017 Read time: 2 mins
Work on a major road project in Ecuador now looks set to restart now that a financing package for the work has been determined. The Circunvalacion Norte ring road in the city of Cuenca is expected to cost US$520 million, with the plans calling for three lanes in either direction along a 6km section between Guangarucho and the Panamericana Norte motorway.


The route will measure 50km in all and will be tolled, with the project now looking set to be carried out under a concession model. The project is not allowed to use direct funding from the Ecuador Government, which is why the concession model is being suggested instead by the city authorities. Ecuador's Ministry of Transport and Public Works (MTOP) will carry out a feasibility study into the project to determine whether the concession model will be viable and will be likely to attract the necessary private funding.

The project will be comparatively complex due to the large number of rivers it will have to cross, a major factor in increasing the cost of the work. In all the ring road will feature 11 bridges, with crossings over the Bibin, Culebrillas, Cuenca, Machangara, San Agustin, Sidcay, Tutupali, Tomebamba and Yanuncay rivers. The new ring road will also feature modern safety systems such as LED lighting, emergency boxes at regular intervals along the route and radar speed detection technology.

Related Content

  • China helps Nepal plan capital ring road upgrade
    February 24, 2012
    China is providing technical assistance for the upgrading of the 27km ring road project for Nepalese capital Kathmandu.
  • Tunnel project of Chilean capital Santiago
    April 8, 2015
    Tunnel construction in Chilean capital Santiago will help cut chronic congestion – Mauro Nogarin & Mike Woof write. Chile’s capital Santiago is a thriving city having benefited from the country’s economy growing strongly in recent years. The massive copper mining sector has helped boost the country’s GDP significantly in the past few decades, also aided by the growing international reputation of Chile’s large wine industry. The steady economic growth has resulted in an equally steady growth in average incom
  • Crossing the Alps for five decades
    March 24, 2020
    Italy’s A22 Autostrada route is a key transport connection for Europe and also a model for efficient operational management
  • Ecuador’s new bridge to be built in sections
    July 31, 2018
    Ecuador is working on plans for the new South Crossing Bridge (SCB) spanning the Guayas River, to improve transport connections for the port of Guayaquil. The plans call for the SCB to be constructed in three sections, with the project expected to cost US$1.04 billion. The schedule calls for the link to be completed in 2022, with work starting in the third quarter of 2018. The project is being handled under 40-year concession deal that encompasses the bridge and highway links.