Here is a look at four infrastructure projects from around the globe.

Project: Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Lines (ADSL) project
Location: Venezuela

Venezula’s rural communities were left out of the digital revolution.

So Alcatel-Lucent, Caracas, Venezuela, teamed with local public telecom company CANTV Movilnet for a project that has so far provided Internet access to 1.3 million people in the region.

“[The project has] an emphasis on Venezuela’s rural zones and those with relatively limited resources,” explains Naibis Grimon, PMP, South America program management office leader, Alcatel-Lucent. “The principle challenge for this project is the alignment of diverse resources to achieve the goals of delivery.”

To do that, the two companies manage the efforts as a joint project in an effort to “mitigate the risks [and] to achieve every commitment of delivery and every month-by-month milestone,” she says.

Project: Waste Management Facility
Location: Ireland

This €130 million project to build a waste-management plant in County Meath, Ireland not only offer a way to deal with a growing garbage problem—they could also give Ireland a business edge.

Companies operating here have to export their industrial hazardous waste to facilities on mainland Europe. This makes the country uncompetitive and is damaging our reputation as a good place to do business,” says John Ahern, managing director, Indaver, the Dublin-based waste management company leading the project.

“If we are to continue to attract inward investment, we need to invest in the necessary infrastructure. This facility is no longer a ‘nice-to-have’ but a ‘must-have’ piece of infrastructure.”

Construction on the facility in County Meath began in September 2008. When operational, it will manage 200,000 metric tons of residual waste per year. And by generating renewable energy from biodegradable waste, the site will produce enough electricity to meet the needs of 20,000 homes.

Project(s): 2010 Transport Action Plan
Location: South Africa

Next year, millions of soccer fans will descend on South Africa for the Fédération Internationale de Football Association World Cup. Gearing up for the masses, South Africa launched the 2010 Transport Action Plan.

The the ZAR11.7 billion megaprojects include public transportation initiatives and road infrastructure efforts designed to:

 Accelerate existing transport plans

 Maximize and integrate existing transport infrastructure

 Improve public transport and promote its use

 Accelerate implementation of the government’s economic and sustainable development policies

Project: U.S. 20 Straightening Project
Location:Oregon, USA

U.S. President Barack Obama’s stimulus package includes nearly US$120 billion for highway, rail and other public works projects, according to Reuters.

That money is breathing new life into a $150 million (US) project to straighten a 10-mile (16-kilometer) highway in Oregon, USA. The upgrades will shorten the drive—a popular route to the state’s coast—as well as allow for larger semitrailers to use the road.

Launched in 2006, the project was originally held up because of concerns over water-quality violations. After nearly a year of negotiations, workers returned to the site in mid-2008. By that point, though, some of the work had been sidelined due to budget concerns.

Following the announcement of the economic stimulus, the Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) poured another US$13.8 million into the project, allowing for all improvements to be made.

“It would not have been fully up to standard,” Vivian Payne, ODOT Area 4 manager, told The Oregonian newspaper. “This additional money allows us to make those curve improvements the right way.”