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Argentina is looking at financing solutions that will help the country develop and improve its road network. The country’s Transport Ministry has been holding discussions in New York with a series of major banks and finance institutions. Many of the new highway projects projected for Argentina will be carried out under the PPP model, with a new financial framework and trust fund having been planned to pay for the works. In all the programme of works calls for 7,200km of road works to be carried out using th

Guatemala has been spending heavily on developing its road network. Work has been carried out to 10 major routes, totalling 153km. One of the important routes to have benefited from improvements is the road connecting Tulate with La Maquina. The country has set a budget of US£208.5 million for road repairs and maintenance works in 2018. A further 25 contracts will be awarded for repairs works in December 2018.

A massive growth in construction is predicted for Sub-Saharan Africa. This comes from a report by the data and analytics company, GlobalData. Its report suggests that the region’s construction industry will grow at the fastest rate of any other world region over next five years. According to its report, the region’s construction sector will grow on average by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) by 6.6% a year, from 2018 to 2022. The company’s latest report, ‘Global Construction Outlook to 2022: Q3 2018 Up

Construction work is now well underway in Australia on the Monash Freeway upgrade in Victoria State. The project has entered its second stage and is costing US$513.5 million (A$711 million. The work involves building 36km of new lanes as well as installing the latest traffic information technology for drivers. For the section from Warrigal Road to the EastLink the router will be widened to five lanes in either direction, compared with four in either direction at present. Meanwhile between Clyde Road and Car

The US road network features poor pedestrian safety, a problem the authorities are struggling to tackle. According to data from the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA), 5,977 pedestrians died on US roads in 2017. Of concern is that this is the second highest figure since 1990, with 2016 having seen the peak with a figure 2% higher. Worryingly, pedestrian deaths are some 46% higher than they were in 2009. Of note too is that road deaths increased by 3% for occupants of SUVs and by

Charging facilities for EVs have been proposed for the Illinois Tollway in the US. This is a landmark move as the busy I-924 route would be equipped with recharging capabilities along a 35km stretch, allowing for the future use of EVs along the tolled highway. The project is likely to cost as much as US$4 billion to implement, including studies into the necessary facilities required. The systems may well include lanes featuring the latest inductive charging technology, as well as charging stations.

Vietnam’s Van Don-Mong Cai highway is expected to cost US$471.4 million to construct. The 80km-long highway will be built in Quang Ninh Province in the north of the country. The route will feature two lanes in either direction and the project will be carried out under the build-operate-transfer, PPP model. Construction is expected to take 22 months to complete, with the work being carried out by a joint venture comprising Van Don Sun, Long Van Infrastructure Investment and Development and Cong Thanh

The contracts for a major highway project in Romania have been awarded. The project is for the construction of the highway from Craiova to Pitesti. The Italian contractor, Tirrena Scavi, has a €76 million package of works to build an 18km stretch of the highway. Meanwhile local firms forming part of the Dorinel Umbrarescu Group have a €309 million package of works to build a 40km stretch of the route.

Private investors look likely to win the award of the San Jose to Cartago highway widening project in Costa Rica. The Highway 2 route connecting capital San Jose with Cartago will be widened so that it will carry three lanes in either direction. Feasibility studies into the project are underway and the work has an anticipated pricetag of US$400 million. Highway 2 is an important route for Costa Rica’s economy, which relies heavily on tourism. The route runs eastwards from San Jose to Cartago, then dips in