News

India is continuing with its ambitious plans for road network development. A number of banks have given assurances that they will provide the necessary funding to pay for nearly US$19 billion of highway projects. The projects will be carried out under the engineering, procurement and construction model according to India’s Ministry of Road Transport & Highways. One of the plans under the wider road development programme is to develop India’s cross-border links with its neighbours. This calls for the const

Taiwan has set a US$4.6 billion budget for infrastructure development, with road transport works accounting for 25.8% of the financing.

Spain’s Acciona, working with Leonhard Nilsen & Sonner and Multiconsult, has picked up a €420 million contract for construction of 23km of Norway’s E6 motorway. The work, between the towns of Ranheim and Vaernes, was awarded by state-owned motorway operator Nye Veier. It involves construction of a four-lane motorway section for vehicles travelling at a maximum speed of 110kph.

Bosnia’ public roads authority Autoceste FB&H has re-tendered for construction of 12km of the Pocitelj-Zvirovici part of the Corridor 5C motorway. The work, including the 945m Pocitelj Bridge, is worth around €100million with financing by the European Investment Bank (EIB). A previous tender was called in 2014 when the contract has been awarded to Strabag and Euroasfalt companies, in spite of better offers from Viadukt and Hering, according to media reports.

The expansion work for the Hai Van 2 Tunnel project in Vietnam now looks to face delays. A dispute over land compensation by residents in the area is holding back progress. Around 38% of the work for the Hai Van Tunnel 2 project was supposed to have been finished by July 2018 but in fact, only 25% of the work has been carried out.

The Russian Ministry of Transport is setting out a major programme of transport infrastructure improvements, with a budget of US$175.56 billion being planned. Russia has 511,000km of regional and municipal roads at present, around 43% of the country's total network. The aim is to increase the percentage of roads with federal and municipal status to 50%, which will require around 40,000km of roads to be upgraded by 2024. The Russian Federal Government will give the regional authorities the necessary funding

Germany saw a slight gain in road safety in 2017 compared with 2016. Official data from the government body Destatis showed that there were 3,180 road-related fatalities in Germany in 2017. This was 0.8% less than for 2016. Meanwhile the number of injuries from road crashes also dropped to 390,312, a reduction of 1.6%. A significant number of road deaths and injuries involved cyclists, with 382 fatalities and 79,000 injured. Of those, 137 died and 42,600 were injured in incidents also involving a car. And 7

Hitachi Construction Machinery (Europe) NV (HCME) has upgraded its European mini excavator factory to boost manufacturing efficiency. The firm has officially opened its mini and compact excavator factory at Oosterhout, in the Netherlands. The new 8,000m2 facility is the result of an extensive modernisation programme, which commenced in January 2018. The firm says that the upgrade will increase efficiency at the factory that is responsible for producing the ZX10 to ZX85 models. It will also meet the growing

Dana and Mecalac have collaborated to develop an innovative wheeled excavator featuring an all-electric drivetrain. The firms have developed the special e-Drivetrain system for the new Mecalac e12 electric compact wheeled excavator. This machine recently won the Energy Transition Award as part of the 2018 Intermat Innovation Awards. Based on the proven Mecalac 12MTX model, this version is the world’s first all-electric compact wheeled excavator. The machine features Spicer 112 axles and a Spicer 367 shift-

Chile’s landmark Chacao Bridge project now looks to be back on a sound footing, with completion expected in late 2022 or early 2023. This projects for the 2.6km-long bridge was to have been built jointly by Brazilian firm OAS and South Korean company Hyundai. However OAS hit financial difficulties and had to withdraw from the project. As a result, Hyundai will now buy the 49% stake OAS had in the project. As Hyundai already has a 51% stake in the bridge project, this will give the firm total ownership ove

Zambia’s road safety record is worsening, with an increase in casualties on the country’s network. The latest official figures show a notable jump in the number of crashes in the second quarter of 2018, compared with the same period in 2017. Of concern is the 12% increase in road deaths in this time.

Funding has been secured to help pay for road rebuilding work in Puerto Rico. The US Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is providing US$110 million to Puerto Rico’s highway and transportation agency, Autoridad de Carreteras y Transportacion (ACT). This funding will be used for Puerto Rico’s Road Construction and Reconstruction Accelerated Programme.

Work is starting on the first phase of a new road project in the UAE. This will see new interchanges being built for International City, Dragon City and Warsan Village as well as the surrounding area. The work will also include widening some existing roads and adding new road signalling technology. The road improvement work is worth nearly US$109 million.