ASTANA, Kazakhstan, July 29. A record-breaking 12,000 kilometers of highways are now under development in Kazakhstan, Trend reports.
According to Kazakhstan's government report, 8,000 kilometers of these roads belong to the republican network, and 4,000 kilometers belong to the local network. By the end of the year, it is planned to complete work on 7,000 kilometers.
Work is underway to reconstruct four large road projects with a total length of about 2,000 kilometers: Karaganda - Almaty, Taldykorgan - Ust-Kamenogorsk, Atyrau - Astrakhan and Aktobe - Kandyagash. Some sections of these roads have already begun to be put into operation in mid-summer, and completion of all facilities is planned by the end of the year.
The Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan is launching road sections of the Center-South Corridor, the main route between Astana and Almaty. Thus, four-lane traffic has been opened on the section of the Karaganda-Balkhash highway from the city of Karaganda to the village of Akbastau.
In addition, an upcoming four-lane highway connecting Taldykorgan, Kalbatau, and Ust-Kamenogorsk is undergoing a gradual launch. Thus, 38 kilometers connecting Taldykorgan with the village of Kyzylagash have been opened.
The Korean companies Dongsung Engineering and ISAN Corporation are keeping an eye on the quality of road construction between Almaty and Astana. Engineers conduct technical supervision, are constantly on site, and monitor the quality of work performed.
In addition, this year it is planned to complete several important projects, such as the construction of a road tunnel at the Shakpak Baba pass in the Turkestan region, a road overpass at the Shamalgan station, and a bridge across the Bukhtarma reservoir in East Kazakhstan.
The ministry is also implementing a new large-scale program for the average repair of roads with structural strengthening, using recycling technology for processing secondary raw materials. The state gives priority to roads where no repair work has been carried out since their construction.
This year, the average repair of 2,500 kilometers of roads began at the expense of the Development Bank of Kazakhstan, and next year work will continue on the remaining 4,500 kilometers. The technology makes it possible to reduce the cost of the project by 7 times compared to reconstruction and carry out repairs twice as quickly.
Today, the total length of roads in Kazakhstan is a whopping 95,000 kilometers, with 25,000 kilometers falling under the republican network, while the remaining 70,000 kilometers make up the roads of the local network.