News

The project to construct a new ring road around Peru’s capital Lima is facing a difficult tangle that has to be unravelled. However the contractor tasked with the construction work, Grupo Ferrovial, is hoping to be able to make up time and start work in January 2017. The tangle needing to be addressed is between Peru’s Ministry of Transport and Communications and the authorities in the city of Lima as the two parties have not agreed the details of the project. The contractor believes it can start work in ti

Zimbabwe is in desperate need of major road improvement works right across the country. Estimates suggest that close to US$5 billion is required to refurbish the country’s road network. The country’s roads have become dilapidated with neglect and 88,000km of the country’s network needs rebuilding to improve transportation. Private funding is being sourced to pay for the work, with local contractors keen to tender for the necessary projects and offer competitive bids. Zimbabwe’s economy is in a poor state an

The tendering process is due to commence for a major new highway project in Bangladesh. The 218km highway is intended to improve transport connections between Dhaka and Chittagong and is expected to cost close to US$2.3 billion. The route will be tolled and will have seven interchanges, while it will run alongside the existing highway. The project is being planned by the country’s Roads and Highways Department (RHD). Two options have been proposed, with one featuring six lanes and three in either direction,

Bidding is underway in the Australian state of Victoria for the Western Distributor road project in Melbourne. The project is expected to cost US$4.06 billion. Interest has been strong in the project with a series of major contractors forming consortiums to submit joint bids. The contracts for the project should be agreed towards the end of 2017, while construction is planned for completion in 2022.

A series of tolled highway projects are commencing in the US state of Texas. These projects are being coordinated with input from the Texas Department of Transportation. One project is worth US$330 million and involves adding tolled lanes to the existing State Highway 360. The second phase of this project would cost an additional $604 million and involve adding further tolled lanes, however funding has yet to be secured before it can progress further. Another project is for the construction of tolled lanes

Much of the funding for the completion work necessary for Pakistan’s M-4 Highway is being provided by the Asian Development Bank. This will come in the shape of a loan worth US$100 million. A further $34 million in funding is being provided through a grant from the Department for International Development (DFID) in the UK. The highway is of enormous economic importance for Pakistan and the region as it will boost trade and assist with political stabilisation of the region. The M-4Highway forms part of an

A novel approach to improving road safety is being made in Thailand. The country is now making it compulsory for convicted drink drivers to visit hospital morgues. This move is being handled by the Thai Probation Department and forms part of a series of measures intended to improve road safety in Thailand. The aim of the programme is to scare drivers committing DUI offences into avoiding reoffending. The country has the second highest rate of road fatalities in the world, according to a report by the World

Work is progressing on the key Red Vial 5 highway project in Peru. The construction phase of the Huacho-Pativilca highway should finish in March 2017. The 183km long highway project has been carried out in two phases, with the first being finished in 2008 and costing some US$58 million. However costs have escalated for the second phase and it will come with a bill of some $119.6 million when the work is completed in 2017, around 12 months later than originally planned. The road operator is Norvial and this