News

Rural roads in Nepal look set to benefit from an upgrade programme, with partial funding from the Asian Development Bank (ADB). The Nepalese Government has set out plans for its Rural Connectivity Improvement Project, which targets upgrade work for 388km of rural roads. These links will be surfaced and financial support of US$100 million for the work will be sourced from the ADB.

The names of the contractors offering bids for the new Agua Negra Tunnel project connecting Chile and Argentina will be revealed in March 2018. Several firms have already expressed a keen interest in this major engineering project. Contractors that have expressed interest include CRS, a consortium comprising China Railway Tunnel Group and Benito Roggio e Hijos. In addition, Ingenieria y Construccion Sigdo Koppers and OHL are also interested in the project as are the firms Rovella and Condotte. The project

Brazil’s roads are in increasing need of repairs, but with no money available to spend on infrastructure upgrade, the Brazilian Government is having to take a different approach. The responsibility for key road sections will be handed over to private firms that will then be tasked with maintenance and repair work. Typical duties will include filling potholes and updating signalling systems. However this system will not provide additional funds for upgrading dual lane roads to dual carriageway status or for

The Paris-based World Road Association – PIARC – is backing the Pavement Preservation Recycling Summit (PPRS) to be held in Nice next month. PPRS, organised by Routes de France, ERF (European Road Federation) and IBEF (International Bitumen Emulsion Federation), is set for the Nice Acropolis on March 26-28.

Plantworx 2019 will be held in England at the East of England Arena and Events Centre in the town of Peterborough on June 11-13, 2019. The East of England venue is a permanent exhibition centre which has hosted other ‘big machine’ events such as LAMMA - for agricultural equipment - and Truckfest.

The environmental study for the proposed Mwenda to Kashiba road project is now starting. Stretching 187km, the road project will improve the transport links between Zambia and Congo DR. The road project will cost an estimated US$475 million and will be carried out under the PPP model. The project includes the construction of a new bridge over the Luapala River, which forms much of the border between Zambia and Congo DR. In addition, a smaller bridge over the Luongo River in Zambia will also be built.

Work is now commencing on widening a stretch of the A3 Autobahn where it passes through the Bavarian city of Regensburg. The 15km section of the A3 will be widened from its present two lanes to three lanes. The project is costing €270 million and will be carried out on the section from the junction between the A3 and B8 at Rosenhof to the east of Regensburg and running 15km westwards, past the junction with the A93 Autobahn route that connects with the A9 and Munich to the south. This work is needed as the

Morocco is evaluating the feasibility of two major highway projects at present. One is for the addition of an express lane along a 381km route between Mekness and Rissani, and is expected to cost US$484.8 million. The other project is for a 250km highway from Meknes to Errachida and has a projected cost of $1.653 billion. Feasibility studies are being carried out at present, while funds are also being set aside for purchasing the land required.

Work is now starting on Colombia’s Toyo Tunnel (Tunel del Toyo) project. The 9.8km long tunnel is being built by a subsidiary of the Spanish FCC Group, FCC Construccion. The concession contract for the tunnel is for a 10 year period that includes design, construction, operation and maintenance. The project is expected to cost US$483 million and once complete, the new link will improve transport connections between Medellin and Uraba. The route of the tunnel itself is from Canasgordas to Giraldo in Antioquia

Croatian media are reporting a dispute between two consortia and that of the China Road and Bridges over the Peljeski bridge project. Croatia’s national roads company Hrvatske Ceste chose China Road and Bridges but the decision is being challenged by a consortium led by the Italian firm Astaldi and one by Turkish CT Ictas. The two consortia submitted their complaints to the Croatian State Commission for Control of Public Ordering Processes in January only days after similar action by another consortia led

The German construction equipment industry is in the middle of a boom, according to data from the country’s equipment manufacturing body, the VDMA. A new report highlights that turnover and incoming orders saw a double-digit increase in 2017 and Germany manufacturers are starting 2018 with a high degree of optimism. According to the VDMA figures, the German construction equipment industry ended 2017 with turnover of €10.8 billion– an increase of 15% compared to the previous year. It is the fourth