News

A large number of road projects are planned as part of the US$16 billion (SAR 60 billion) Makkah Gate residential project in the city of Makkah, Saudi Arabia. Makkah Gate Company (MGC) has revealed that the huge project will cover an area of 90mn m² about 14km west of Makkah’s Grand Mosque. According to MCC, a non-profit company, it will comprise 45 model districts that include road projects, shopping malls, university, an amusement park, cultural facilities, a complex for government offices, museums and h

Police in Singapore are to trade in their old-school red light cameras for modern digital red light models. An order for 240 sets of digital cameras has been placed by the police with German firm Jenoptik. The order for the 11 megapixel cameras is said to be valued at a “few million [Singapore] dollars”. Around 240 new speed cameras and digital red light cameras will be installed in Singapore by mid-2015. Instead of having to process and retrieve the film, the new digital cameras will enable the authority t

In a bid to reduce Indonesia’s high death toll of motorcyclists in road accidents, the country’s government is looking into the feasibility of setting a speed limit for motorcycles. Government officials have sought advice from the International Motorcycle Manufacturers Association (IMMA), with the latest Indonesian National Police's statistics showing that motorcyclists accounted for 64% of the over 100,000 road accidents recorded in 2013. A feasibility study is expected to be launched by the end of 2014,

The Governor of Russia’s Leningrad region, Alexander Drozdenko, wants to renovate the M10 Scandinavia highway under the public-private partnership scheme and introduce a toll for using several of its sections. A key 872km highway connecting Russia’s two biggest cities, Moscow and St Petersburg, and continuing to the border with Finland, the Scandinavia highway brings in 20-25% of Russia's overall import. Drozdenko said that a trip from St. Petersburg to Vyborg, near Russia’s Finnish border, may cost €8.57

The Mexican state of Guanajuato is to invest US$287.74 million (MXN 3.7 billion) in roads infrastructure projects. Announcing the investment, Guanajuato state governor Miguel Marquez Marquez said the funds would cover over 300 construction, refurbishment, connectivity and modernisation projects. It is part of Marquez's so-called ‘Impulso’ programme which covers several areas of his administration, such as economic development, infrastructure and social programmes. Meanwhile, elsewhere in Mexico, it has em

The CEO of Zambia's Road Development Agency, Bernard Chiwala, said work on the construction of a USD$259 million bridge between the country and Botswana will begin in June 2014. The project is funded by the governments of Botswana, Zambia, and Japan as well as the African Development Bank. According to Chiwala, the contract for building the Zambia-Botswana bridge will be awarded in Botswana in the near future. The structure is scheduled for completion in four years and will replace the ferry service betwee

India’s highways department is preparing a detailed project report for the country’s 138km US$2.29 billion corridor project. The corridor will connect Pooncheri with Kattupalli and Ennore ports, skirting Chennai to facilitate easy movement of container traffic. It wwill see over 900 hectares of land being acquired, and will involve widening of existing roads, flyovers, over-bridges, bridges and interchanges.

UK road safety charity Brake has renewed calls for tougher charges and penalties for drivers who kill and injure following the publication of British government criminal justice figures for 2013. The figures show the large proportion of drivers who kill and seriously injure being let off with relatively low penalties, reinforcing the importance of a forthcoming review of charges and penalties, recently announced by government. In total, 438 drivers were convicted of causing death or bodily harm. Just over

St Petersburg authorities are seeking investors for a proposed €2.84 billion (RUB 133 billion) multi-lane city highway. Further investment worth €104.64 million (RUB 4.9 billion) is sought for paid parking lots in the city centre. Both projects are among a number of new planned infrastructure projects in St Petersburg worth combined more than €5.66 billion (RUB 263 billion). Other projects include a high speed tram connection on the Kirovsky Zavod - Baltic Pearl route, a new ice skating facility, the upg

With a deficit of US$58 billion in infrastructure, ranging from highways to ports and airports, Chile's priority should be urbanisation, according to Javier Hurtado, head of studies at national construction chamber CChC. "Today, over 80% of Chileans live in cities. Urban areas are where a significant part of the economy and life happens. So if you want to make real improvements to quality of life, focus on urban areas," Hurtado said in an interview with BNamericas. In the same interview, Hurtado cited a n

China Major Bridge Engineering Company (CMBE) has won the US$1.55 billion contract to build the main structure of Bangladesh's Padma bridge. A 100-year guarantee will be provided by CMBE for the 10km long 25m wide bridge as part of the contract secured from the Bangladeshi government. According to Bangladesh's Finance Minister Ama Muhith, a formal agreement will be signed with CMBE at some stage in June 2014. Around 6.15km of Padma bridge will be constructed over Padma river, with the remainder built on

Malaysia is set to get six new toll roads worth a combined US$6.24 billion (MYR 20 billion) within the next 18 months. Further planned projects include the extension of Duta-Ulu Kelang Expressway (Duke) worth $269.69 million (MYR 1.18bn), West Coast Expressway (WCE) worth $1.14 billion (MYR 5.04bn), Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidek) worth $571.39 million (MYR 2.5bn), East Klang Valley Expressway, Sungai Besi-Ulu Kelang elevated expressway (Suke) worth $955.36 million (MYR 4.18bn) and Damansara-Shah Ala

Russia is to invest more than €860 million in the construction and renovation of motorways and airports ahead of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The country’s Prime Minister, Dmitry Medvedev, has signed a funding provision decree worth over €860.14 million (RUB 40 billion) for these works over the period 2014-2016. The Federal Road Agency will receive €66.32 million (RUB 3.09bn) in 2014, €230.72 million (RUB 10.75bn) in 2015, and €195.31 million (RUB 9.1bn) in 2016. The Federal Air Transport Agency will get €119.