News

Chile’s Ministry of Public Works (MOP) has revealed an ambitious plan for bridge projects. The MOP has set a budget of US$1.48 billion to be used for a range of bridge projects for the 2018-2023 time period. In all 229 bridges are included in the programme of works, with structures due for maintenance and upgrade work.

A funding package has been secured for a key highway project in Kenya. The Development Bank of South Africa (DBSA) is providing close to US$615 million for the project. The new highway will connect Lamu on Kenya’s coast, with Isiolu. The highway project is intended to become part of Kenya’ second key transport corridor, with the country’s other transport corridor connecting Mombasa and Nairobi with the Ugandan border. The Lamu to Isiolu road will measures 520km long and will be a key portion of the Lamu Por

The final contract for the Banja Luka-Prijedor motorway in Bosnia will be signed with China Shandong International and Technical Cooperation in September. The construction and 30-year operating concession is with Republika Srpska, an autonomous region of Bosnia e Herzegovina. Value of the contract is around €297 million, according to Nedjo Trninic, the minister of transport for Republika Srpska. Funding will be secured by the Chinese company and in cooperation with Autoputevi RS, Republika Srpska’s hi

Plans are being made for a new link to connect Malaysia’s Penang Island with the Malaysian mainland. The Consortium Zenith Construction (CZC) won the tender process for the US$1.56 billion Penang Roads and Tunnels project, an integrated infrastructure plan that includes the new undersea tunnel. There are suggestions that a bridge would be a feasible alternative, although the tunnel link looks most likely for the project. The feasibility study for the tunnel should be complete in September 2018. Should the

German engine maker Deutz reports that its financial results reveal a successful level of trading for the first half of 2018. The firm’s preliminary financial results for the first half of 2018 show that the volume of new orders rose by 36.6% compared with the same period in the previous year. New orders hit €1.097 billion compared with €803 million in the first half of 2017. Following the strong start to the year, new orders were also very high at €522 million in the second quarter of 2018, a 30.5% increas

In the UK, the contractor Kier Group has secured two three-year extensions to it deals with Highways England. These are for the Areas 3 and 9 contracts and are worth a total of £250 million/year. The contracts relate to providing highway maintenance services, repairs to defects, emergency incident response services and severe weather services on the Highways England road network. The Area 3 package covers major roads in Hampshire, Berkshire, parts of Surrey, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Dorset. Kier

A major new road connection is being planned in Indonesia. Interest has been strong in the tendering process for the Sumatra East Road crossing, according to the authorities. The project will be located in South Sumatra and is expected to cost US$154 million. The tender process is due to end in mid-August 2018, when the winner will be announced. Construction is scheduled to start in the second quarter of 2019.

A new highway project is planned for Russia. The highway will connect the city of Tyumen with Tomsk. Both cities are located in Siberia, with Tyumen alongside the Jura River and Tomsk beside the Tom River. The project is expected to cost nearly US$295 million to complete and will be offered as a concession package. At present the distance from Tyumen to Tomsk is around 1,500km by road, but the new route will shorten the distance and reduce journey times between the two cities.

Metro Pacific Tollways has started construction of a toll bridge to connect Mactan island to mainland Cebu.

Indonesia’s Chandra Asri Petrochemical plans to work with the government to test the effectiveness of plastic-mixed asphalt. In the early stage, Chandra Asri will use three tonness of plastic waste-asphalt mix to pave around 6.3km or roads around the its own plant, said Edi Rivai, general manager of technical services and production. Rivai said the plastic-asphalt mix with around 6% plastic is usually around 30-40% more durable than pure asphalt.

The funding for a stretch of Sri Lanka’s Central Expressway project now looks to have been secured. A loan of nearly US$904 million from Japan’s Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) will provide the necessary finance package for the project. The route of the Central Expressway runs from Colombo to Dambulla, having originally been called the Northern Expressway Project. This latest funding package will help pay for work to the 32.5km link running off to the east at Pothuhera and running to Galagedara, close

Kazakhstan has set a budget of US$1.08 billion that will be used to build new roads as well as to upgrade and maintain existing links. In all the country has 23 separate road projects planned, which will see improvements to 4,200km of roads in all. Tolling systems are being installed on three major routes.

A new expressway project is being planned for India’s Uttar Pradesh State. A loan worth US$1.75 billion is being provided by the Punjab National Bank that will help pay for the construction of the route. Building the new expressway is expected to take three years to complete. Revenue from the tolls collected will be used to pay back the loan inn a series of installments.

The tender process is opening for a major new expressway project in Bangladesh.