Kazakhstan Road Section of the South–West Transport Corridor Receives EBRD Loan

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a $197 million loan for the reconstruction and upgrading of the 62-kilometer road section that connects the city of Shymkent and the Uzbekistan border. The estimated total project cost is $231 million.

This road project is part of the upgrading of the Western Europe–Western [People’s Republic of] China International Transit Corridor. Once upgraded, the project road will accelerate development of regional trade by facilitating the transit of goods and passengers from Uzbekistan and Tajikistan to Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, and Western Europe.

The project also aims to increase progressively the role of the private sector in both routine maintenance and engineering supervision of works, build a comprehensive review and update of highway technical standards, and strengthen efficiency of the road sector administration.

The Road Committee of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Transport and Communications will be the project implementing unit. The project is expected to be completed by end of 2016.