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The lack of maintenance and investment into road infrastructure has once again raised its head within the African road construction and development sector. This puts pressure on contractors and maintenance teams across everywhere, in turn putting businesses at risk. How to manage road maintenance in today’s economic climate will be the focus of the upcoming African Road Infrastructure and Investment Congress, coming to Cape Town September 4-6. The theme Accelerating Road Development will address the

Bilbao in northern Spain is suffering from increasing levels of vehicle congestion, a problem the city authorities intend to tackle. Two major civil engineering projects have been proposed in a bid to address the problem. One of the projects would be to drive a 3km tunnel under the main estuary, improving transport and traffic flow between the north and south of the city. The tender process for a feasibility study into this project I being put to tender. Meanwhile the second major project proposed would be

Financing worth US$150 million is being provided by the World Bank, which will be used to help pay for road development work in Mozambique. The funding will be aimed at upgrades to roads in Mozambique’s Nampula Province and Zambezia Province. One of the key upgrades will be to a 70km section of the road connecting Namacurra with Quelimane. The aim of the work is to improve transport for the agricultural sector in the respective provinces.

A funding package will help pay for road rebuilding work in Kazakhstan. The US$106 million of financing is being supplied by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. This will be used to pay for improvements to a 67km stretch of the Kurty-Kapshagai highway connecting capital Almaty with the city of Astana.

Chile has announced a major development in its transport network, with a budget being set for infrastructure growth. The current administration plans to spend US$2 billion on upgrading the country’s transport links, including roads and highways, airports and urban/underground rail. New plans are being set for the tenders for eight highways with their current concessions due to come to an end within the coming three years. The concessions involved in these tenders will be for some 1,500km of roads in all.

The incidence of road crashes continues to rise at an alarming rate, and is now a leading cause of death and serious injury among young adults in fast-motorising countries. 11 thought leaders combining extensive experience in economic analysis, diagnosis tools and countermeasures shared strategies and applied practices that can result in better dimensioned and targeted safety action plans. The closing roundtable examined the incentives that exist for stakeholders in emerging economies to collaborate across

Romania’s national road company has tendered two sections of the Sibiu-Pitesti motorway as part of ongoing work to complete the cross-country A1. Out to tender are sections 1 and 5 of the five-section Sibiu-Pitesti route. Romania’s Autostrada A1 will, when completed, will run for nearly 580km to connect Bucharest with the Banat and Crișana regions in the western part of the country. The motorway starts on the outskirts of Bucharest and runs to Pitești, Sibiu, Deva, Timișoara and Arad before crossing the b

New highway bypasses are being planned for South Kazakhstan. The routes will bypass the cities of Shymkent and Sarygash and will feature two lanes in either direction. The projects are costing US$303.5 million in all to construct. A portion of the necessary funding for constrution and operation of these bypasses will be provided via grant from the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

A 162km stretch of Ecuador’s highway route 40 is to be upgraded, improving the road’s safety and capacity. The section of highway being improved includes the stretch that links the town of Santa Elena, which lies on the Pacific Coast, with the city of Guayaquil, on the Guayas River. The contract now includes work to 30km more of the highway than was originally planned. The contractor Verdu is to carry out the PPP deal, which is expected to be worth US$231 million over the 20-year concession period.

The Russian Government is now working on a national plan for a new network of highways to improve transport across the country. This programme has been initiated by the Russian president, Vladimir Putin. The aim of the plan is to increase the number of high quality, high speed roads linking the country.