Road Structures

Cement manufacturers are launching projects to install new cement works in Morocco despite poor market conditions. The CEO of Ciments du Maroc, Mohamed Chaibi, believes that improvements in current demand are temporary, while Dominique Drouet, chairman of the board of directors at Holcim is reprted as anticipating a 12% drop in activity in the cement industry at the end of 2013 and expecting the decline to continue in 2014. A cement works with a production capacity of 1 million tonnes costs an average

A Portuguese contractor is now commencing work on a new highway in Venezuela. The US$4.76 billion project is being handled by contractor Teixeira Duarte. The highway work is for a new link from la Guaira to capital Caracas. The Caracas–La Guaira highway connects capital Caracas, to the port city of La Guaira, capital of Vargas state, as well as Simón Bolívar International Airport. The coastal link has had some technical issues and new sections have had to be constructed.

Two Chinese provinces are investing a combined US$9.36 billion in transport infrastructure during 2014. Shaanxi province in northwest China plans to invest $5.79 billion (CNY 35 billion), enabling the upgrade of 5,000km of rural roads and the construction of around 1,110km of highway. The authorities will also strive to complete the Xianyang-Xunyi, Luofu-Weizhuang and Jiangzhang-Famensi highways in 2014, which will add about 160km of highway in Shaanxi province. Meanwhile in southwest China, the Yunnan pr

The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure (MTI) in Nicaragua plans to build more than 200km of new roads during 2014. The MTI reportedly has a budget of US$151.87 million (NIO 3.88 billion), of which $58.44 million (NIO 1.5 billion) belongs to the Treasury. One 10km project originally earmarked for 2013, the Malpaisillo-Mina El Limon road, will be carried out in 2014. The 28km Nejapa-Empalme de Puerto Sandino scheme is also said to be under development.

Romania’s national roads company has plans for work to start on some 400km of new highways in 2014. This is expected to cost in the order of €5.8 billion. The three key projects will be the €1.2 billion Comarnic-Brasov highway, the Craiova-Pitesti highway and the southern beltway in Bucharest. In all the three projects will cost €5 billion and will extend for 230km.

In Canada construction is underway on the US$276.6 million (C$300 million) gravel highway connecting Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk. This 140km, all-weather gravel route lies in Canada's Northwest Territories (NWT). The NWT highway connects to the Demspter Highway in the Yukon territory and stretches all the way to the Beaufort Sea in the Arctic ocean. This will be the second major infrastructure boost to the Arctic region, following the opening of the Deh Cho Bridge in 2012. Completion is expected in 2018. Canada’