News

Work is starting on two major highway projects in Bangladesh. The two have a combined value of US$674.3 million. One project is for an 8.5km long embankment with pumps for flood protection and should be complete at the end of 2020. This embankment will also feature a four lane roadway that will connect Chaktai with the Kalughat Bridge. The other project is for a 16km long elevated highway that will connect with Chittagong’s main airport. Intended to reduce travel times and congestion, this link should also

Construction on a new eastern highway connection to the city of Ufa should commence in 2018. The new link will connect the city, the capital of Bashkortostan which forms part of the Russian Federation, to the M-5 Ural Highway. The project is expected to cost US$694 million to construct and the work will be headed by the Turkish contractor Limak. The project was awarded as a 25 year concession package. Construction will not be without its technical challenges as the route passes through areas that are

The World Bank is starting a technical review of a Brasov-Ploiesti motorway with a view to extending a financial package for construction. According to the Ziarul Financiar newspaper, the Romanian government is seeking financial support after its failed attempts to establish a public-private partnership. The 110km Brasov-Ploiesti highway is part of the planned 600km A3 Motorway that connects the capital Bucharest in the southeast with the Transylvanian commune of Bors on the Hungarian border in the

Serbia has signed a deal with Power China to construct the Ostruznica-Bubanj Potok section of the capital Belgrade’s ring road.

Romania’s National Company for the Administration of Road Infrastructure has received 20 tenders for two segments of the Craiova-Pitesti highway.

The Kuwaiti Government is setting out an ambitious programme of road infrastructure development. The authorities have set a budget of US$13.25 billion which will be spent on 24 new road projects. The ministry of public works is already developing Kuwait’s infrastructure system and currently has 25 road and bridge projects being built. These current projects have a total value of $8.58 billion.

Europe has a strong demand for bitumen, with road construction being a key driver. This is clear from new data from Eurobitume. Its newly-released report, 2016 Eurobitume Bitumen Consumption Statistics for Europe, shows that in 2016 the European market for bitumen saw 11,274 million tonnes of the material being used. Of note was that bitumen consumption in France during 2016 was around 100,000 tonnes than in 2015. This reveals a recovery in activity, which has been confirmed by key players in the national

A series of road improvement projects will now go ahead in Sydney Australia, following funding from the New South Wales (NSW) state Government. Five road upgrade projects will be carried out, in a bid to improve traffic flow and cut congestion. The funding is worth US$91.6 million (A$115 million) in all. One road stretch due an upgrade will be Cambeltown Road. The improvements are being carried out to increase capacity in the north-west, south-west and west areas of the city

The much-needed Interstate 64 widening project in the US state of Virginia is now getting the go-ahead. The project will be handled jointly by Granite Construction, Parsons and Corman. The three firms are working in a partnership to deliver the project under the design-build model. The work will help reduce congestion and improve traffic flow at peak periods. Two lanes and high occupancy toll lanes will be added to the route, increasing capacity.

Funding worth US$1.2 billion will help pay for the stage two portion of the project to upgrade the Northwest Trade Corridor project in Bangladesh. The highway will improve transport connections to and from Dhaka, with stage two being for the 190km stretch between Elenga and Rangpur. This funding is being provided by the Philippines-based Asian Development Bank (ADB), although further financing from the Bangladesh Government will pay for the remaining $472.6 million required for this highway section.