News

The Australian state of Queensland is setting out major plans for infrastructure development. A budget of US$33.8 billion (A$45 billion) has been set for improvements to transport systems across the state over a four year period. Planned work will include developing new roads and highways as well as road connections.

Global auctioneer Ritchie Bros raised over €35 million during the company’s recent auction in Moerdijk, the Netherlands - the largest such event there since 2010.

Plans are being drawn up in Laos for the new highway connecting its capital Vientiane with Hanoi, the capital of neighbouring Vietnam. The project is expected to cost in excess of US$4.5 billion, with much of the Laos section of the route running parallel to the existing Road N0 13 South.

Indonesia will benefit from new bridges, underpasses and flyovers being built during 2018. The country’s Ministry of Public Works and People's Housing has plans to build 174 bridges as well as 18 underpasses and flyovers. The various projects have an average price of nearly US$12 million. Some of the more important bridge projects include the Holtekamp Bridge in Papua, Riau’s Siak 2 Bridge and Maluku’s Wear Arafura Bridge. Meanwhile in Bali, the new Ngurah Rai Underpass will be built while in Aceh, a 900m f

In Rwanda, a US$66 million deal has been signed for construction work on a road running from Base and through Butaro to Kidaho. The 63km stretch road is intended to improve transport connections in the north of the country. The work on this road will boost the country’s connections with neighbouring Uganda, helping develop trade and transport between the two nations.

The European Commission has announced a major package of road safety measures. These include new targets, in a bid to cut road deaths and serious injuries in half by 2030. New car safety standards will make life-saving technologies such as Automated Emergency Braking and overridable Intelligent Speed Assistance a standard feature on all new vehicles. At present these features are only available as an option on some models. The Pan-European policing body TISPOL has welcomed this package of measures, which

The world in which we work is changing at a rapid pace; we have seen developments in road safety that we could only dream about 5-10 years ago. Despite these changes, global casualty figures remain high; the only way that we can affect change is by working together through international collaboration. Together we hold the power to reduce the threat to life from road collisions. We should be proud of our road safety heritage and of our achievements to date. This is at the very core of what this conference

Heavy rains across East Africa have caused major problems to road links for the region. The rains have resulted in roads being washed away in rural areas, while urban areas have also suffered badly. Storm drainage in many areas has proven unable to cope. Kenya’s busy capital Nairobi has seen roads that are normally heavily congested suddenly resemble rivers, with water washing away vehicles and various structures.