News

Contractor China Roads and Bridges is building a new bridge link in Mozambique as part of a project worth some US$725 million. The contractor is also building the new ring road around Mozambique’s capital Maputo in a deal worth some $315 million, with the work due for completion by the end of 2014. The project for the Maputo-Catembe River Bridge also includes construction of road connections to Ponte do Ouro.

Construction work is underway on a key bridge connection in Vietnam. The Cao Lanh Bridge is located in Vietnam’s Dong Thap Province and its construction is costing an estimated US$145 million.

The International Transport Forum (ITF) has published a new report on how better regulated Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) can improve funding and delivery of transport infrastructure. The ITF highlights how PPPs have become an important tool for governments to attract private finance for infrastructure investments. In the face of tight budgets, PPPs are seen as a means to maintain transport investment and limit public spending at the same time.

The authorities in Russia’s Urals region are approving a programme that will see major investment in infrastructure. Some US$3.91 billion will be invested in roads as well as communications, and information technologies between the present and 2020. The transport plans will see 225.4km of roads being rebuilt and improved as well as works to repair and maintain 27 bridges.

The value of construction projects in the UK has shot up by 67.1% in the last year, according to a new report. New project contracts awarded in December 2013 totalled €7.31 billion (£6 billion), compared to €4.38 billion (£3.6 billion) in the same month in 2012. The infrastructure sector proved to be an area of significant growth last month, with the total value of projects awarded reaching €2.68 billion (£2.2 billion), a 10.6% increase from November 2013 and a huge 101.6% year-on-year growth.

In Japan, operators of West Nippon Expressway, Central Nippon Expressway and East Nippon Expressway are planning to spend around US$28.86 billion (JPY 3.02 trillion) to renovate ageing tunnels and bridges on their roads. The expressway operators will be renovating around 2,110km of the combined 9,000km of expressways that they operate. This will include large scale renovations on about 1,870km of expressways, such as reinforcing tunnel foundations. The three operators will also renew about 240km of bridges

The Main Public Roads Administration for the Moscow region has prepared a draft decree banning the use of regional roads by trucks weighting over 12tonnes from 6am until 10pm. The ban on use of the Moscow Ring Road by trucks during daytime was introduced in March last year. The final decision on whether or not to ban 12tonne plus trucks on regional roads during daytime will be made by the Moscow region's government.

The construction of the Marão road tunnel in Portugal will be resumed in the first half of 2014 – ending a two-year suspension of works due to the financial constraints of the winning Somague-led build consortium.

The construction of the Marão road tunnel in Portugal will be resumed in the first half of 2014 – ending a two-year suspension of works due to the financial constraints of the winning Somague-led build consortium. The concession for the tunnel, which, at 5.6km, will be Portugal’s longest road tunnel, is now under the control of the state road agency Estradas de Portugal. Another investment of €150 million (US$ 202.91 million) is required to complete the major infrastructure works, earmarked for completio

Banks, builders, pension funds and Colombian government officers are discussing plans to finance around 40 new road concessions worth a combined US$23.86 billion (COP 47 trillion). According to market reports, the winners of these concessions will cover around 25% of their final cost. These funds will be paid in the first two years of each project and the winning firms will look to recoup their investment through road tolls. Banks will cover 30% of the cost via 12-18 year loans. The national development ban

A 17.5km undersea tunnel may be built to link Karimum Island in Sumatra's Riau and Kukup in Johor's Pontian (Malaysia). A memorandum of understanding (MoU) has been sealed by Pelalawan Regency of Indonesia's Riau Province and University Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) to study the tunnel’s feasibility. The Johor-Riau undersea tunnel link is expected to cost US$4.52 billion (MYR 15 billion). The build figure would be cheaper than an earlier proposal to construct the Dumai (Indonesia)-Malacca (Malaysia) bridge w

The number of road deaths in France last year fell by 11% to 3,250, 403 fewer than in 2012. Revealing the figures, Minister of the Interior Manuel Valls said they were the lowest number since the first national road death statistics were recorded in 1948. Deaths of 18-24 year olds on French roads during 2013 were down 10% year-on-year, with road deaths of car occupants down 14%. Deaths of cyclists on French roads were down 8%, pedestrian road deaths fell by 7% and 3% fewer motorcyclists were killed on the