Finance & Funding

A finance source has been secured for major highway projects in Colombia. The Rumichaca-Pasto and Montes de Maria highways are being constructed by Spanish contractor Sacyr. A package of loans worth a total of US$110 million will pay for the highway work. This financing is being supplied jointly by CIFI, Banco BTG Pactual Cayman Branch and Banco Pichincha Panama.

A finance source has been secured for major highway projects in Colombia. The Rumichaca-Pasto and Montes de Maria highways are being constructed by Spanish contractor Sacyr. A package of loans worth a total of US$110 million will pay for the highway work. This financing is being supplied jointly by CIFI, Banco BTG Pactual Cayman Branch and Banco Pichincha Panama.

The 13km M4-M5 Link in Sydney, Australia is to be constructed by the South Korean contractor, Samsung C&T. The project is worth US$788.5 million. The new link will be constructed as an underpass and is due for completion in mid-2023.

A programme of bridge repairs and upgrades is being planned by the Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket). The work is expected to cost €960 million and will see around 850 bridges being improved. The improvements are needed to boost capacity for many of the structures, to cope with larger trucks now being allowed on the Swedish road network. The programme is planned to continue until 2030 and will focus on improving the load capacity of bridges on key routes.

After a series of delays a key project to construct a new tunnel connection in Nepal is now moving forward. The country’s Department of Roads is inviting bids for the Ngdhunga Tunnel project, which comes with an estimated pricetag of US$182 million. Around 75% of the necessary funding is being supplied by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in the shape of a loan with a 40-year repayment period. The project for the Ngdhunga Tunnel involves building a 2.45km tunnel section between Basnetchhap a

The construction of Colombia’s Tunel de Oriente project is running behind schedule. Unexpected geological problems are the reason for the delay to the project’s completion. However the builders have assured the client that the delay will not increase the cost of the project. The tunnel, located in Colombia’s Antioquia Department, was due for completion in December 2018 but will now be ready by May 2019.

The recent fatal bridge disaster in the Italian city of Genoa has triggered questions being asked about the state of France’s bridges. And with around 33% of France’s 12,000 or so bridges now known to require repairs, there is an understandable cause for concern.

Financing from China is playing a key role in in supporting the development of the transport infrastructure network in the Philippines. In all 18 major projects are planned to be carried out during the current administration in the Philippines, with the work benefiting from a colossal US$13.75 billion in funding from China. Both grants and loans make up the funding. The major road projects include those for the Davao City Expressway, the Camarines Sur Expressway and the North Luzon Expressway East. They

Mexico’s road, highway and bridge building programme is continuing, with new routes under construction. US$327.4 million has been spent on rebuilding existing roads and building new links in the Baja California region. Maintenance has been carried out on 1,873km of Mexico’s Federal Road network. A further $120 million has been used to upgrade the border link between Tijuana Airport and the city of San Diego in the US state of California.