News

Widening work to a 453km section of Brazil’s BR-163 highway will be carried out by the consortium, Rota do Oeste. The firm is the current operator of the highway and is receiving a US$298.84 million loan from national development bank BNDES to fund the necessary widening of the route. The deal has been approved by the Brazilian land transport agency, ANTT. The funds will also be used to provide maintenance work for this section of the BR-163 highway.

Austrian contractor Strabag will lead the consortium constructing a stretch of the S7 expressway in Poland. Strabag is teaming up with Heilit+Woerner for the project to build the Trasa Nowohucka section of the S7 linking Rybitwy and Igołomska and lying to the east of Kraków. Construction work is commencing in August/September 2014 and the contract is worth around €130 million. The consortium is handling the upgrading and construction work for some 18.6km of roads in all. The work includes widening a 4.5km l

Japanese contractor Cojaal's contract for the construction of a stretch of Algeria’s East-West highway has been cancelled. The Algerian Ministry for Public Works terminated the contract as the firm had not met the requirements of the initial agreement when the deal was signed. The exact cause of this contract cancellation has not been revealed and nor is it clear if this development will bar the firm from tendering for future projects in the country. Much of Algeria’s East-West highway is complete but some

In Vietnam work is now underway on a major new highway that will connect Ho Chi Minh city, Long An and Dong Nai. This 57km highway is currently the biggest road project in Vietnam’s southern region. The four-lane highway will have a speed limit of 100km/h and the project is costing some US$1.6 billion. The project is due for completion in 2018.

A series of important new road links in Malaysia are now being built in a project worth some US$107.7 million. The project is being carried out by local contractor WCT Holdings. The deal was awarded to the contractor by the oil company Petronas Refinery and Petrochemical Corp (Petronas). The contract involves the construction of permanent and construction access roads for the Refinery and Petrochemical Integrated Development (RAPID) complex that Petronas is building in Malaysia’s Johor State.

Data from Italy reveals a worrying trend with regard to road rage incidents. In the first six months of 2014, cases involving aggression between road users has led to 76 serious incidents. This has included five deaths and 16 serious injuries. Police data suggests that the number of road rage incidents is increasing. Drugs played a role in just 5% of incidents while only nine of the 76 incidents took place at night.

Road user safety will be a key priority for the upcoming European Transport Conference, ETC 2014. This 42nd transportation event is being held at Goethe University in the German city of Frankfurt from 29th September to 1st October. A series of safety sessions has been announced for ETC 2014, while traffic management will also be a focus, with sessions including Cycling the Green Wave and Phantom Jam Avoidance. The Traffic Management, Traffic Engineering and Road Safety sessions will also include: urban traf

Work on Angola’s Luanda-Soyo highway section is being financed from Italian sources. The Italian export credit agency and credit insurer SACE is guaranteeing a US$221.8 million credit line to Angola's Ministry of Finance for completing works on the final stretch of the Luanda-Soyo highway. The work on the project is being carried out by Italian civil engineering firm CMC Ravenna. The project itself is worth some $336.8 million. Meanwhile BNP Paribas is acting as Sole Structuring Bank and Agent Bank for the

In the southern German city of Nuremburg plans are being made for work to replace three old concrete bridges. A feasibility study into the proposed work will now be carried out. The three pre-stressed concrete bridges will have to be demolished and replaced with new structures. In all, the work is expected to cost some €100 million.

Plans are now in place for a new bridge that will link Uruguay and Argentina. The project will be carried out by Chinese contractor China Dalian International Cooperation Group (CDIG). The private agreement signed by CDIG will see the firm constructing a bridge connecting Colonia del Sacramento in Uruguay with Argentinian capital Buenos Aires. The work is expected to cost up to US$829 million to complete and when the bridge is open it will make a significant reduction in journey times from Montevideo and Bu

In Russia the completion date for the Suzdalsky Prospekt project in St Petersburg has been set for June 2015. The works will see Suzdalsky Prospekt linking with the road to Kamenka. The project is costing some US$124.2 million. The project is being carried out by contractor Dendorstroy-2, with construction having commenced in 2011. The project was originally scheduled to finish in 2013 but was postponed for a year due to issues relating to financing.