The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has passed a $274.2 million investment to build 240 kilometers (km) of highway in the western part of Uzbekistan and develop safety at key parts of the nation’s national road network to increase regional trade and road transport connectivity.
“As a double-landlocked country, Uzbekistan has made regional connectivity the centerpiece of its transport policy,” stated ADB Senior Transport Specialist Pawan Karki.
“This project will help to develop the country’s potential as a regional transport and logistics hub between Europe and South and East Asia, promoting economic growth,” Karki added.
As part of the project, a 240-km section of the Guzar–Bukhara–Nukus–Beyneu highway in Karakalpakstan will be restored as a two-lane, cement concrete road including access roads to link villages to the highway. The road is one of the region’s key trade routes and part of Corridor 2 of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program.
The road will include climate-resilient features suited to the arid climate of Karakalpakstan, where temperatures are assumed to rise by around 5ºC by the end of the century. The scheme will also create five rest stops with separate hygienic facilities for women and market stalls, 50% of which will be allocated for women entrepreneurs.
To improve road safety and traffic efficiency, the project will help the Ministry of Transport establish an intelligent transportation system along a 100-km pilot section of the Tashkent–Namangan road, which has among the heaviest traffic in Uzbekistan. The arrangement will monitor traffic and road conditions in real-time, feeding information, and warnings to display boards and websites.
Two fully automatic weigh-in-motion facilities will be established at select points of the national road network to circumvent the overloading of vehicles on the highway network and prevent accelerated pavement deterioration.
ADB has spent $1.3 billion in road and rail transport infrastructure in Uzbekistan, whose road network is vital to regional connectivity.
