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In Bangladesh, planning is underway for a new bypass for capital Dhaka. The Joydevpur-Debogram-Bhulta road project will be built under the public-private partnership (PPP) model. The project has been approved by Bangladesh’s Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (ECNEC). Under the PPP model, the Bangladeshi Government will select a road developer at an unusually higher bid price, which would make the Dhaka bypass road costlier for commuters, according to officials and this is the subject both

Manitou reports strong sales for 2015, with a growth in sales revenues of 3% to reach €1.287 billion. The firm’s EBITDA from recurring operations hit €91 million (7%), a notable gain over the €78 million recorded in 2014. The firm reports a current operating profit of €61 million (4.7%), a growth of 3.9% over the €48 million achieved in 2014. Net income grew to €32 million for 2015, compared to €30 million for 2014. The firm reported a net debt of €66 million, giving a gearing ratio of 13%.

The contract to build a new highway bypass and interchange in Stockholm has been awarded by the Swedish transport authority, Trafikverket. The work will be carried out by Züblin Scandinavia, the Swedish subsidiary of Ed Züblin, in partnership with STRABAG subsidiary STRABAG Sverige. The work involves building a 950m long section of highway, including a complex interchange and is worth some €76 million. The works being carried out by Züblin in the district of Akalla north of Stockholm include sheeting and sh

Work on a major road project now looks set to commence shortly in Ethiopia. The US$221.7 million project will be carried out by a joint venture comprising Indian contractor IL&FS Transportation Networks (IL&FS) and its fully-owned Spanish arm Elsamex. The new highway is for an 84.56km route connecting Agamsa-Bure as well as an 86.1km stretch from Nekempte-Anger Gutin-Andhode. Financing for the work is being supplied by the World Bank and the work is expected to take eight years to complete. IL&FS won the pa

The €230 million N25 New Ross Bypass public-private partnership (PPP) project in County Wexford, Republic of Ireland has reached financial close. Mott MacDonald is technical advisor on the public-private partnership, awarded by the National Roads Authority, otherwise known as Transport Infrastructure Ireland. Work will be carried out by BAM Ireland and Dragados, a construction division of ACS Group, based in Spain. The scheme involves construction of 13.6km of dual carriageway and 1.2km of new or u

A series of tenders for major road projects is planned in Paraguay during 2016. The country's Ministry of Public Works and Communications (MOPC) will launch tenders with a total value of US$2.27 billion. The Ministry of Public Works and Communications will prioritise works including construction of the first stretch of the Bioceanic corridor, La Costanera Sur road and the 147km-long export corridor. The plans call for projects worth some $1.8 billion to go to tender in the first half of 2016. These projects

A series of major road projects in Brazil now look set to be delayed. Key road widening projects works awarded between 2012 and 2013 may now take longer than the original five year deadline to complete. Six road concession projects were awarded in the period, totalling over 3,000km of roads to be extended or upgraded. The contracts require that at least 10% of the planned work must be complete before any tolls can be charged. This initial phase has been carried out, but later stages to expand the roads have

The machinery and equipment hire sector in Italy saw a slight upturn in business for 2015 over that for 2014, a rise of 0.7%. The hire sector is worth more than €1.3 billion, with the main products being scaffolding and cranes – about €360 million. Platform rentals were around €280 million and earth moving machinery totalled €260 million. Prefabricated modules brought in €100 million, while power generator sets were around €110 million. The incremental improvement was likely due to an “Expo effect”, a

Kiribati is benefiting from major improvements to its road infrastructure. Funding for the road development programme has been provided jointly by the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the Australian Government. The improved road network on South Tarawa will help boost safety and economic development. The road is a vital shared communal asset for 50,000 people, the entire population of South Tarawa, as it is the lone vehicular transport route on the atoll. The project is seeing the upgrade o