Azerbaijan, Baku, August 27 /Trend, E.Ismayilov/
Choosing a contractor for the reconstruction of the third section of the Masalli-Astara highway will take place after work on construction of a bridge envisaged within this project is agreed with Iran, a source at Azeryolservice JSC which is part of the Azerbaijani Transport Ministry told Trend on Friday.
"The contractor leading on this section's construction work hasn't been determined yet and will become more topical only after Azerbaijan and Iran agree and clarify the issue of conducting work on the border and in particular, in construction of a bridge," the interlocutor of the agency noted.
Concerning the issue of construction work in the A and B sections of the road, the source said that work in the first section continues despite delays. "There are certain delays which can be explained down to the significant volume of work in this section of the road," he noted.
According to him, currently the construction contractor which is the Turkish company Özgün Yapı is preparing to start work on the second section of the highway.
This highway project is implemented at the expenses of resources from the Asian Development Bank and the country's government.
Around $200 million worth of loan was allocated by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for the construction of the road's (A) section of 22.15 kilometres and to date up to 50 per cent of the resources have been used. The contractor for the construction of the highway's first (A) section is Azerinshaatservice.
As a result of the time extension for the use of loan resources for two years due to delays in attracting contractors, work on the B and C sections is planned to be completed by 2016.
B section runs from the site of 22.15 kilometres to the 41.5 kilometre marker. The contractor will construct a two-lane road running to 19.35 kilometres, 10 bridges, two intersections and pedestrian areas, four recreation areas and a drainage system.
The 19.9 kilometres long C section runs from the 41.5 kilometre point to the 61.4 kilometre part of the Masalli-Astara highway. Besides the foundations, it is planned to construct two pedestrian walkways, eight bridges, four recreation areas, drainage systems and other facilities.
The work in these sections will be financed at the expenses of agreement signed on July 27, 2012 in Baku on an allocation of the third tranche to the sum of $200 million from a $500 million first multi-tranche credit programme (Multiannual Financial Framework) for road networks.