Kazakhstan to receive $400 mln from ADB to construct key international trade highway in south of country

ASTANA. Sept 16 (Interfax) - Kazakh state-owned company KazAvtoZhol, which manages highways, plans to build a 102-kilometer road in southern Kazakhstan that will improve connectivity between two international transit routes running through the country.

The project will be financed with funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), which approved a loan equivalent to $400 million for this purpose under a state guarantee, the ADB's press service said.

"The project provides for the design and construction of a 102-kilometer highway bypassing the city of Saryagash in the Turkestan region. The new road, equipped with an intelligent traffic management system, will ensure transport connectivity by diverting transit flows outside the city. This will help reduce the load on urban streets and cut travel time," the press service said.

The highway is expected to improve connectivity between Corridors 3 and 6 of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) program.

In Central Asia, six CAREC corridors link the region's economic centers with each other, as well as connect landlocked CAREC countries to global markets. Corridors 3 and 6 connect Russia with South Asia and the Middle East.

The ADB was established in 1966. Its shareholders include 69 countries, 50 of which are in Asia. Kazakhstan became a member of the ADB in 1994 and has since received more than $7.5 billion from the bank in the form of loans, grants and technical assistance projects to support the country's development in key sectors, including public administration, the financial sector, energy and transport.