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Drivers convicted of causing death by dangerous driving should be given stronger and more consistent penalties, according to UK road safety charity the IAM (Institute of Advanced Motorists). An IAM analysis of eleven recent prosecutions involving mobile and smartphone use revealed that the average sentence for causing death by dangerous driving is four-and-a-half years in prison and a disqualification from driving for seven years. In all of the cases analysed, the convicted drivers were found to have lost

Strabag has won an €83.3 million contract to build a 10.4km section of the Corridor 5c motorway in Bosnia. The major contract for the Svilaj-Odžak section of the international motorway corridor includes the construction of highway, the border crossing at Svilaj, the Svilaj toll station, two service areas and two motorway exits.

Plans are moving ahead in Algeria for key highway projects. Algeria’s public works ministry has revealed that preparatory work for the Transrhumel viaduct in Constantine will be completed by the end of 2013. The Transrhumel viaduct is being constructed by the Andrade-Gutierrez consortium to a Brazilian design.

A new report by the World Health Organisation (WHO) places India as having the highest annual road fatalities of any country in the world. The study is based on data collected from 11 May-13 December 2011, with 130,037 having been killed on India’s roads during this period. China had the next highest number of road deaths at 70,134, followed by Brazil at 36,499, the US with 32,885 and Russia with 26,567. Next in the list were were Iran, Mexico, South Africa, and Thailand, with 23,249, 17,301, 14,804, and 13

A loan from Saudi Arabia will help fund construction of a major road link in Kenya. The US$27 million package is being provided on a 30 year loan by the Saudi Monetary Fund. This will be used to help pay for a $130 million project to build the new Mudogashe-Nunow road with work commencing in 2014.

Plans are moving forward in Oman for its Batinah highway project. The new route is planned for the north of Oman and Phase 5 of the project will be constructed by a consortium of contractors led by Spanish company Ferrovial. This deal is worth some US$344.6 million. Ferrovial’s partners are Local company Federici Stirling Batco Bot Construction and Lebanese firm Batco. The contract is for a the construction of a 41km section of highway linking Liwa with Sohar and this also includes building three bridges, t

A one day conference is planned intended to optimise transport research infrastructure in Europe. Run under the auspices of the European Transport Research Alliance (ETRA), this conference will help facilitate the wider and more balanced use of transport research infrastructures in Europe. It will also help link relevant research data bases and provide for exchanges of data. The idea is to promote cooperation and networking of research infrastructures as part of the process for creating the ERA – T, the Eur

A major event is planned that will provide a forum for attendees considering economic factors in construction. The International Construction Economic Forum is being held in the Netherlands from the 20th-22nd November 2013. The 2013 International Construction Economic Forum (ICEF) will be run in the Hotel Okura in Amsterdam. The conference, networking event and awards dinner will focus on core themes of trends and forecasts in the global construction industry, project finance, successful project management

A major series of tenders will be released in Oman shortly. In all the tenders will be for some 1,300km of roads. The projects will be for new road links as well as for widening existing routes. One of the key projects is for work to turn the 715km Nizwa-Thumrait road into a dual carriageway. Other major projects include the 76km Al Buraimy-Safwan-Al Rawdah road, the 150km Metan-Al Hashman-Al Shasr road, the 200km Al Mazyunah-Sheit road, an upgrade to 33km of Ibri-Yankul road, 39km of Nizwa-Bahla road and u

Funding from South Korea will help finance work on a key road link for the Vietnamese city of Hanoi. The state-run Export-Import Bank (EXIM) of Korea will provide loans worth up to US$200 million to build the 17.85km road, which will connect Hanoi to a nearby industrial area. The four lane road will link the Nhon Trach industrial complex with Ho Chi Minh (HCM) City. The EximBank’s economic development cooperation fund is supplying the loans. In all the road project is likely to cost some $430 million, with

A series of new road projects are planned in Ethiopia. One key link will be for capital Addis Ababa. The city authorities are planning work on the road connecting the Inter-city bus terminal with the Lideta Church as well as on the road between St George Church and 18 Mazoria. The work will commence in October 2013 and will take a year to complete. The Road Fund and city authorities will require a budget of some US$397 million to build up to 113km of roads with asphalt surfaces in the 2013/2014 period.

Netherlands-based officer Egbert-Jan van Hasselt recently joined the TISPOL Council and holds firm views on road policing. The Netherlands has a comparatively good record on road safety due to factors including well-designed and maintained infrastructure and strong enforcement policies, although it faces challenges on a number of points, including the high percentage of through-traffic from foreign drivers using its network en-route to other destinations. Van Hasselt identified the importance of the partner

Nicaragua’s Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure has awarded the first of a series of contracts to upgrade the NIC 3 highway. The construction work will be carried out by a consortium comprising contractors Constructora Meco, CEMEX and Llansa Ingenieros. This first phase will be for a 34.4km section of the route while the second stretch will be 15.6km long. In all the work is expected to take 18 months to complete and is likely to cost around US$40 million. Financing is being provided by the Fund o