Finance & Funding

Two major road projects are being planned for Russia’s first and second cities, Moscow and St Petersburg. Bidding is opening for the project to build a stretch of Moscow’s North-East Expressway. The work is expected to cost around US$780.6 million and includes building five viaducts and three bridges, as well as rebuilding the existing Novosavinovsky Bridge. Meanwhile in St Petersburg, construction work for the Eastern High-Speed Diameter (VSD) is now being held back until 2022 at the earliest. The work i

Financing is being secured for an important road connection in Rwanda. A grant of US$42 million is being provided by China, following and agreement with the Rwanda Government. The funding will help to pay for a 10km stretch of road that links Kigali with Masaka, lying to the east of the city. The work will also improve connections to Eastern Rwanda, while helping to boost the country’s economic development.

The European Commission said it will investigate the public financing for the Fehmarn Belt link to see if it in line with state aid rules. The announcement follows the European Union General Court's annulment of a previous Commission decision approving the support. "Today's opening of such an investigation is an invitation for all stakeholders to provide their input, which will allow the Commission to adopt a new, well-informed final decision,” said Margrethe Vestager, EU Competition Commissioner.

Financing worth over US$705 million (A$1 billion) has been secured for road projects in New South Wales, Australia. This budget is for the 2019-2020 period and will pay for over 40 separate road projects. One of the key road projects targeted in the programme of works is for the M4 Smart Motorway, connecting Parramattta and Penrith. The work to the M4 is expected to cost $75.75 million (A$107.4 million). Meanwhile in Adelaide, South Australia, plans are in hand for a $283.5 million (A$402 million) grade

Russia’s Sochi highway project will not now be completed by 2024. The original plan was to build a 119.km new route to replace the existing A147 route that connects Dzhubga with Sochi. Because of the challenging terrain, this project to build a new four lane highway without the twists and turns of the existing route would have been extremely costly, with a pricetag of as much as US$18 billion. However the project has now been downgraded as being of a lesser priority than other Russian road projects ongoing

Poland’s General Directorate for National Roads and Motorways (GDDKiA) reports that that the three bids for the Czestochowa A1 motorway section exceed the agency’s budget. The least expensive bid was nearly €101 million, submitted by a consortium of Strabag Infrastruktura Poludnie, Budimex and Budpol. Lemar bid around €121 million while Intercor bid €159 million. GDDKiA said that the bids will not automatically be rejected. Earlier this year GDDKiA terminated its contract with Salini Polska, signed

The Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority and other agencies involved in the US$4.25 billion Gordie Howe International Bridge have pledged millions of dollars in community support. WDBA, contractor Bridging North America, the US state of Michigan and the federal Canadian government announced the support plan, which involves more than 30 agencies and organisations, according to a report by the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. The plan includes a $15 million Neighbourhood Infrastructure Strategy for both s