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Major highway projects are being planned for Malaysia, to boost transport connectivity. A new toll road has been proposed in Negri Sembilan's Senawang, to connect the Kajang-Seremban Expressway (Lekas) with the North South Expressway (NSE). This has been put forward by the North South Expressway (NSE) operator, PLUS Expressway. The planned toll road would be shorter than the Lekas-NSE stretch by some 3-5km and would cut journey times by bypassing 11 traffic lights between Lekas and the NSE. The aim of the p

The European Union Road Federation (ERF) has today launched a Position Paper that makes the case for a more widespread use of road markings on Europe’s roads as a means of increasing road safety and reducing the socio-economic impact of accidents. Entitled ‘Marking the way towards a safer future’, the ERF is calling on EU Member States to establish intervention and maintenance policies to guarantee that road markings on Europe’s road remain visible for road users and, at same time, optimise the interaction

The authorities in the Russian city of Rostov-on-Don report strong interest in a project to construct a new tolled tunnel. German companies have reportedly shown interest in the Northern Tunnel toll road project, as have Israeli and Italian firms. The toll tunnel road will provide an alternative North-to-South route in the city. The project is expected to cost in the order of US$306 million to construct. The new tunnel would run underneath the Don River and help improve transportation links for the busy por

The authorities in Paraguay have agreed a funding package with the Latin American Development Bank (CAF) for a series of infrastructure projects in the country. The funding comes in the shape of a US$222 million loan and this is the first time that the CAF has approved funding of this size for the country. This will provide partial funding for the Programme for the Improvement of Integration Corridors and Road Reconstruction. Projects included in this include resurfacing of a 73km section of road in Neembuc

New road, bridge and tunnel links are planned for the Chinese city of Wuhan. The city’s authorities have been discussing a series of projects with China Communications Construction Company, which are intended to improve transport connections and cut congestion and travelling times. The focus will be on building new highways, improving urban roads and the construction of bridges, tunnels and other transportation infrastructure. Funding for part of the work will come from the city of Wuhan. The work is expect

In the Philippines a plan is taking shape for a major new connection between key tolled highways. The new road will link the South Luzon Expressway with the North Luzon Expressway (NLEx). The route has been planned by the Toll Regulatory Board (TRB) and the Philippine National Construction (PNCC). The new road connection will measure 13.4km long and will be a four-lane expressway. The project is expected to cost some US$521.5 million.

In Russia the construction firms Hanty-Mansiyskdorstroy and Volgomost are working on contracts to rebuild the important M5 highway. This route lies motorway in the Republic of Bashkortostan (Volga) and is managed by Samara-Ufa-Chelyabinsk. Hanty-Mansiyskdorstroy’s contract is to rebuild a 15km stretch of the highway and is worth US$128.16 million, with the work due for completion by October 2016. Volgomost is work on a contract worth $189.16 million to rebuild a 14km section of the M5 highway, with its work

Concerns have been expressed regarding procurement practices in Poland for large infrastructure projects. Ulrich Paetzold, director general of FIEC, the European Construction Industry said, "Polish engineers and contractors continue to be concerned about the procurement rules and practices in the country despite recent changes in the procurement regulations and contract conditions." This comment followed a recent meeting between the FIEC and leading Polish consulting engineers and construction companies o

In the Canadian city of Vancouver, a novel solution has been proposed to address the risk of seasonal drink driving offences. This suggestion is for a prepaid parking system in the city in order to address possible drink-and-drive incidents in light of the holiday season when alcohol consumption increases. The proposal is that the prepaid parking system will not add upfront costs as there is already existing parking infrastructure. The system would work by allowing people to have extra parking time in which

The European Commission has launched proposal calls worth €350 million for TEN-T (the Trans-European Transport Network) related projects. The proposal calls relate to all EU Member States and TEN-T projects for road, air, railways, maritime and inland waterways. Commission vice president Siim Kallas, responsible for transport, said, “With the 2007-2013 budgetary period coming to an end, we will make the best possible use of these TEN-T Calls for Proposals to make sure European transport infrastructure sup

The Uzbekistan Government is calling for bids on a key road project that will boost transport connectivity. The work calls for the rebuilding of the Pungan-to-Namangan highway. The plans call for the 75km highway to be widened from its present two lane configuration to a design featuring four lanes. The work is expected to take two years to complete and bids are being accepted for the project until the 20th January 2014. The widening of the highway is expected to help the economic development of the country

A massive growth in sales is expected for electric vehicles and hybrid vehicles in coming years, according to a forecast from specialist IDTechEx. According to the report, the total global gross value market for hybrid and pure electric vehicles will reach US$334 billion by 2020. At present the total global gross value market for hybrid and pure electric vehicles is worth some $69 billion. The report suggests that the market for these vehicles will primarily consist of large or very heavy duty vehicles, nei