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Official data shows that both Latvia and the Czech Republic have seen an improvement in road safety during 2017. The number of road fatalities from crashes in Latvia dropped to a historic low level of just 134, a drop of 16% from the 158 recorded in 2016. The fatal road casualty rate included 50 pedestrians, a drop of 9% from 2016. In all, 4,942 people were injured in road crashes in Latvia during 2017 according to the official data from the Ministry of Transport. Meanwhile in the Czech Republic, road fata

A new bridge is being built between Bangladesh and India. The bridge will span the Feni River and will provide an improved transport link between Ramgarh in Bangladesh and Chittagong in India. Piling work is already being carried out for the bridge supports and the project should be complete by the second quarter of 2020. Funding is being provided by the Indian Government.

A new highway is being built in Laos, which will link the capital Vientiane with the city of Vangvieng. The route will stretch 113.5km and will form part of the Laos-China Highway Project. The work is costing US$1.3 billion and is being carried out by Yunnan Construction Engineering Group. The new highway will feature two lanes in either direction and will be constructed under a Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) model. This new section will run from Naxaythong's Sikeuth and eastern Vangvieng, linking with the

Work is now underway on a 136km highway that will present many challenges to its builders. The highway is being constructed in Guangxi Province and will connect Guangyang with Pingle, with the project forming part of the Guangxi 13th Five-Year Plan. Because of the terrain, the route will feature 18 tunnel stretches as well as 58 bridges, boosting its cost to an estimated US$2.02 billion. The project is being carried out by Zhongda Construction under the PPP model and will take three years to complete

Hungarian contractor Duna Aszfalt has won the tender for building a section of the M44 dual carriageway between Bekescsaba and Kondoros. The €133 million deal is for 18km of the M44. The other bidders were Strabag Altalanos Epito, Colas Hungaria with Colas Kozlekedesepito and a consortium including Pannon-Doprastav, Subterra-Raab and Domper. Békéscsaba is near the Romanian border with the M5 interchange at Kecskemét. Meanwhile, under the Rural Development Programme, the government said it will boost

China Harbour Engineering said it expects to open Brunei’s four-lane Pulau Muara Besar Bridge by April. Pulau Muara Besar is a 955-hectare island project in Brunei Bay that includes a deep-sea container port development and industrial facilities. The project is designed to attract foreign investment in the country’s petrochemical and downstream oil and gas industries. The Pulau Muara Besar Bridge links the Brunei-Muara District in western Brunei and Pulau Muara Besar in eastern Brunei. The 27km 23m-wide

An improvement in road safety is being seen on Mexico’s network, according to the latest official data. There has been a 53% drop in the number of road crashes between 2012 and 2017, according to the Mexican Secretariat of Communications and Transport (SCT). The number of crashes dropped from 23,748 in 2012 to 12,533 in 2017. The improvements in safety can be attributed to Mexico’s massive road upgrade programme as well as the installation of new traffic signs. In addition, the safety gains have been

Denmark is seeing sluggish sales of electric cars while consumers in other European countries are getting more than ever plugged in. Sales of electric cars in Denmark continue to decline despite a cut last year in the registration fee for buyers. Nearly 650 units were sold last year, compared to 966 for 2016, according to government figures. It costs 20% less to register an electric vehicle than a petrol-powered or diesel one. Meanwhile, in Germany, Romania and Portugal, sales continue to rise. At the

Solar cell panels worth around €270,000 will produce energy for the Øresund Bridge that connects Denmark and Sweden. Danish companies SolarFuture and Solarpark DK have been awarded the contract to install 1,500m² solar panels near the toll station of the Øresund Bridge. The three-year agreement is with Øresundsbro Konsortiet - the Danish-Swedish company that owns and operates the Øresund Bridge. The panel will generate around 4% of the power to operate the bridge, including deck lighting and

The authorities in Poland plan to expand the country’s road network by a total of 3,268km by 2025. The Polish national road authority GDDKiA says that this plan is likely to cost some €31.61 billion. The road development plan will run until 2025 as part of Poland’s National Road Construction Programme. The road development work includes adding 252.2km of highways, 2,641km of dual carriageways and over 369km of ring roads. Poland has been steadily improving and expanding its road network and in 2017

Financing is being sought in Indonesia for a series of major infrastructure projects. In all the work is expected to require US$9.59 billion and is for six highway projects, with one in Kalimantan and five in Java. The project in Kalimantan is for the Bontang-Samarinda Highway. In Java the highway projects are for links from Cileunyi-Tasikmalaya-Cilacap stretching 183km, Bawen-Yogyakarta, Kamal-Balaraja-Teluknaga stretching 48.3km, Semanan-Balaraja stretching 31.7km and Semarang-Demak.

Major highway and bridge projects are commencing in China. Work is starting on a highway project at Baise city in Guangxi Province as well as on the Malantun section of the Xintai-Tai'erzhuang highway in Shandong Province. The Baise city project is being carried out by the CEEG Gezhouba Group and the deal is worth some US$3.94 billion. The project is being carried out under the PPP model and is for a 35-year concession. The 199km highway will connect Guangxi Province with Yunan Province. Construction is