News

Criminal charges are being considered against a road contractor in Belize following extensive damage to a Mayan pyramid. The company has been accused of using rock from the 2,300 old Mayan pyramid as aggregate for a road project. Situated on private land the Nohmul complex is in the north of the Central American country and lies close to its border with Mexico. The company allegedly used excavators to remove rock from the 30m high historic temple with the material then being crushed for use as aggregate. Ar

The authorities in Vietnam are planning several key infrastructure projects, including the new Cho Chien Bridge and improvements to Provincial Road No15 amongst others. The new Cho Chien Bridge will connect Ben Tre and Vinh Long provinces and this is expected to cost in the region of US$182 million. The project will now be carried out under the PPP model instead of a BOT scheme, which had been envisaged earlier in the planning stage. This change is due to the fact that TLIC will now carry out the project in

A US$307 million highway is being built in the state of Jharkhand and West Bengal. This follows an agreement between local firm IL&FS Transportation (IL&FS) and the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI). The deal takes the form of a concession package and will be for a 20 year period. The highway is to be constructed in around 30 months and IL&FS will then operate the route on a tolled basis once it is open to traffic. The project forms part of the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) phase V.

Plans are in hand in the Philippines to build a new road linking the international airport of capital Manila to the city and to other surrounding highways. The contract for the project was awarded to Optimal Infrastructure Development Inc (OIDI), a subsidiary of local firm San Miguel Corp (SMC). The company will build the new Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA) Expressway in a deal worth some US$387.25 million for the Department of Public Works and Highways. OIDI will carry out the work under the PPP

Trafficnow and Isbak are working together to provide 250 DeepBlue Sensors in Turkey’s commercial centre Istanbul. These units will be installed along all the major corridors and access points of the city and the deal also includes the DeepBlue Core centralised system. This award is of note and could help make a major contribution to taming Istanbul’s notoriously congested streets. Split between Asia and Europe, Istanbul has some 2.6 million vehicles on its road network of 25,000km as well as a population of

Swarco Traffic Americas has acquired the parking business unit from McCain for an undisclosed sum. This business uses LED signs, single space indicators and software to provide real-time information to motorists and parking operators. The purchase of McCain’s parking guidance system will allow Swarco Traffic Americas to broaden its product offering in the US. Swarco is already a major player in Europe and this deal strengthens its international position. The move boosts Swarco’s range of technology as McCai

Turkish contractor ENKA and its joint venture partner Bechtel have won the Best Global Project Award from US magazine Engineering News Record (ENR) for the Kosovo Route 7 highway project. The privately owned firm ENKA and Bechtel won an award in ENR’s Global Best Competition 2013 for the Project of the Year in the category for Roads and Highways around the world. Projects in several categories competed in the awards on factors such as innovation and overcoming global challenges, implementation of safety pro

Colombian construction firm Odinsa is looking to become one of the country's major concession operators. The ambitious company has put forward a new proposal for a public-private partnership for the repair and maintenance of 1,768km of roads that are the responsibility of Invias. The US$409.83 million (COP 750bn) Odinsa proposal seeks to repair 48% of the roads in the next two years, for which the company will use revenue from 20 out of the 35 Invias tolls that it manages. Works would be contracted with thi

The Romanian Prime Minister Victor Ponta has revealed that five consortia have entered bids to land the contract for the construction of the €2.08 billion (RON 9bn) 121km Pitesti-Craiova highway. The deadline for the submission of bids was 8 May 2013. Offers were submitted by a consortium formed by Romanian companies such as Spedition UMB, Tehnostrade and Vectra Service. The other four consortia that filed bids are: Obrascon Huarte Lain/OHL ZS (Spain), China Communications Construction Company/Dogus Insaat

In Australia, New South Wales Roads Minister Duncan Gay said talks are continuing between federal and state governments to develop a US$3.03 billion (AUD 3bn) F3-M2 road link in north-west Sydney. It is reported that NSW and federal governments will each pump up to US$407.83 million (AUD 400mn) in to the project. The balance of the funds for the four-year works, set to start in 2013, will be provided by a private firm to construct a tunnel from the F3 freeway to the M2 motorway. The private firm will then c

Funding for emergency repairs to the US89 route in Arizona is being provided by the US Government. The current US Transportation secretary Ray LaHood announced that US$35 million grant will tackle damage to US Highway 89 in Northern Arizona, which has been closed since its collapse due to a landslide in February 2013. The Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) will use the funds to build a temporary detour on Navajo Route 20 (N20), and continue assessments and emergency repairs, as well as to evaluate