The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is allocating 230 million euros for the development of the Trans-Caspian corridor.
“Elchi” reports, citing the bank, that the EBRD will provide a loan of up to 230 million euros for a strategic road project in Kazakhstan to support the development of freight and passenger transport along the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route.
The funds will be provided to the state-owned national road operator of Kazakhstan, “KazAvtoZhol,” and will be directed toward completing the modernization of a 234-kilometer road section between the cities of Aktobe and Ulgaisyn. The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is also participating in the co-financing of the project.
Within the framework of the project, the existing Category II road will be upgraded to a Category I highway. The renovated section is part of the Western Europe–Western China transport corridor, the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor 1, and the European E38 route.
The EBRD states that the project will strengthen Kazakhstan’s role as a reliable transit hub between Europe and Asia and will enable more efficient organization of cargo flows along the Trans-Caspian corridor.
The construction and maintenance of the road will be carried out based on the “design, build, and maintain” (DBM) model. The new highway will be equipped with intelligent transport systems such as electronic toll collection systems, weigh-in-motion sensors, and weather forecasting equipment.
In addition, the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan and the EBRD will expand cooperation on the digitalization of the country’s road sector. The parties intend to develop the “E-Joldar” digital platform for road asset management and implement intelligent road control solutions.
It should be noted that the EBRD has invested 12.8 billion US dollars in Kazakhstan to date through 354 projects. Kazakhstan is currently considered the country with the largest EBRD investments in Central Asia.