News

plan for Italy’s key Orte-Mestre highway has been unveiled with the project expected to cost over €11 billion. Of this, some €1.43 billion is expected to be funded by the Italian Government, while €9.5 billion is expected to be provided by private sources. The work is expected to take several years to complete. The project will link the Adriatic Centre-South with the North-East, and connect with Europe’s with the corridor 5, running from Lisbon-Kiev.

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is expressing concern at environmental issues over the new Moscow-St Petersburg tolled highway. The focus is on 14 historic oak trees that will have to be cut down in the Khimki forest to make way for the new highway. As a result the EBRD is considering withdrawing its funding and is currently looking to carry out a deeper examination of the project.

Cost reductions sought The transport authorities in Montenegro are still considering ways to reduce the construction costs of the Bar-Boljare highway. Croatian company Konstruktor is still keen to work on the highway project, which it priced at €2.7 billion. The Montenegro government cancelled Konstruktor’s concession agreement for the project recently. The Israeli-Greek consortium comprising Aktor, Shikun and Binui-HCH was the second ranked bidder for the project and is in talks with the Montenegro gove

Plans are being worked on intended to improve traffic flow around Belgium’s capital Brussels. The local government for the Flanders Region is considering a number of plans at present. The first would see a 15km tunnel running from Grand-Bigard to Woluwe-Saint-Etinne. The second option is for a second ring road to be construction between Alost, Malines and Louvain, which would leave the current ring road for traffic moving into and out of Brussels.

In Romania, modernisation of capital Bucharest’s ring road is now due for completion in 2012. The delay has been caused by a lack of funds. Upgrading of the sections between DN7 and DN1A and DN1A (Mogosoaia)and DN1 (Otopeni) started in 2007 and some 51km have been improved so far. The total length of the ring road will be 71km when it is complete. Tenders still have to be launched for two more sections of the ring road, the 11km DN2/A2 stretch and the 8.6km A1/DN7 section. Financing for these last section

Loans from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and the EU will fiancé highway work in Georgia. The funds will be used to pay for the construction of the high-speed motor road running from West – East across Georgia. The EIB will give a long-term preferential credit worth €170 million, while the EU will provide a €20 million grant. As part of the project, a four lane highway measuring 52km will be built from Samtrediya – Grigoleti, while the 16km section Grigoleti - Kobuleti stretch will be repaired.

Efkon is playing an important role in the construction of the €660 million Limerick Tunnel project in Ireland. The project forms part of the country’s Transport 21 Plan, a huge road construction programme while the tunnel is the largest civil engineering work for the Dublin area since 1920.

ustria’s Government is cutting its road construction budget for 2010 in a bid to trim costs. This will have a major effect on the highway projects contractor Asfinag is involved in at present. The contractor may have to delay construction of the A5 and A3 projects or make them narrower.

The Tamil Nadu state government in southern India aims to build a 162km-road connecting Chennai suburb Ennore and the town of Mamallapuram. State chief minister Jayaram Jayalalithaa said a detailed report on the US$266.62million peripheral road project will be carried out soon. Meanwhile, the state government said it intends to upgrade all 78.6kms of existing roads, while another 83.2km of roads will also be laid soon.

Chile's Public Works minister Laurence Golborne has announced plans to invest US$ 500million to improve roads in the eastern part of Santiago. The first of eight separate projects to ease traffic in that part of the city will begin in October 2012. The works will include a tunnel under Mapoco River connecting Costanera Norte and the Central motorway, two new bridges over Manquehue and Kennedy Avenue and works on La Concepcion exit. The Perez Zujovic roundabout will be eliminated through works about to start

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan worth €50 million to help with the rehabilitation of regional and local roads as well as the modernisation and improvement of transport infrastructure in Albania. This EBRD loan will be used to improve to 500km of roads in rural areas of Albania. The European Investment Bank (EIB) will provide a loan for the same amount for the project. The project is also supported by €33 million in grant financing from the European Commission

Cofiroute USA, which automated toll roads in the United States with the 91 Express Lanes in Orange County, California, has launched a new consulting division to work with public agencies, contractors and others in developing plans for new toll roads or converting existing high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.

Official approval is now being given for changes to the agreement between the Bulgarian authorities and the European Investment Bank (EIB) for the second Danube bridge project. So far the EIB is providing €50 million, with €5 million having already been used. The Bulgarian authorities are agreeing to accept a shorter loan period of 14.5 years rather than the 17-year term originally agreed with the EIB.

JCB has won one of the biggest single tenders in its history with an order for more than 1,000 machines worth over US$96.4million from the Brazilian Government. The UK-headquartered company beat off competition from other major global manufacturers to secure the deal for the fleet of backhoe loaders, which will be used to improve the road infrastructure in the country. The first 114 of the 1,016 backhoes have now been delivered and the keys to one of the first machines handed over by Brazilian President Dil