Finance & Funding

The contract for the US$200 million Vientiane Expressway No 1 project in Laos has been awarded. The 15km road will connect the Thatluang Marsh Specific Economic Zone on the outskirts of capital Vientane with Dongmakkhai, which lies to the north of the city. The build-operate-transfer road concession was awarded to Vientiane Expressway Number 1 Sole Company of Laos and is for a 50 year period. The deal comes with the option of an extension to the period. The new expressway is intended to improve journey time

A major road development project for Mongolia will be carried out on the AH-3 route.

Sales of construction machines continue to be strong across Europe, due to steady growth in construction starts. This has been highlighted in the CECE Annual Economic Report 2019. The report shows that 2018 was the strongest year for the European construction equipment market since the economic crisis in 2008/09. Sales of construction machines in the European market grew by 11% for 2018, and the absolute market level is now 10% below the 2007 peak. There was a considerably growing momentum during 2018: a

Financing from the US now looks to have been secured for a major road project in Argentina. The US Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) intends to provide US$400 million for Argentina’s National Route 7 project. OPIC agreed a package worth $800 million for infrastructure projects in Argentina at the end of 2018. The 700km National Route 7 project will involve building new sections of highway as well as upgrading existing stretches of road.

Major new highway projects are now progressing in Russia, with more detailed plans being drawn up. Two key projects are for the new Black Sea Coast Highway and the M-4 Don Transport Corridor. The Black Sea Coast Highway has seen some changes to the original proposals, with the high cost of the initial design having been a major factor in the revisions to the plans. The length of the new route will be 80.5km under the new proposals, with the work now costing around US$15 billion, some 2/3rds of the original