📋 Tender Overview
Scope :
The project will improve the capacity, safety, and sustainability of the road network in kazakhstans southern region of turkistan, and enhance regional connectivity and trade with national and international markets. the project will finance (i) the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of 102 kilometers (km) of a road bypassing the city of saryagash, providing a safe, high-capacity corridor for freight traffic presently traversing urban areas. the project will also strengthen institutional capacity in road safety and sustainability. the project road will increase capacity along the central asia regional economic cooperation (carec) corridors 3 and 6 linking europe, the middle east, the russian federation, and south asia, and the project will contribute to strengthening supply chain efficiency and diversification, and increase domestic and international transit and trade in the carec region.
Country and sector context. kazakhstans economy relies on a well-functioning road system, as evidenced by 29.0% of freight and 88.2% of passengers being transported by road in 2019. with a sparse population (7 people per km2)2, maintaining connectivity is crucial socially and economically. given this context, addressing the current shortcomings in its transport infrastructure and enhancing regional connectivity is essential to strengthen its geostrategic advantage, stimulate trade, diversify the economy, and promote non-carbon economic growth. the project in the turkistan oblast, along with adbs kyzylordazhezkazgan reconstruction project, strategically strengthens the linkage between central asia and south asia, especially between kazakhstan and uzbekistan. as part of carec corridor 3 and 6, the project enhances the linkage between the regions key economic hubs (shymkent-tashkent-khujand economic corridor) and potentially offers an alternative option to the middle corridor initiative.
regional disparities. the government has demonstrated commitment to addressing the widening regional disparities that spurred protests in january 2022.5 the turkistan oblast significantly lags economically and socially, with the highest poverty rate of 9.7% in q2 2023, compared to the national poverty rate of 5.1% (2.5% in astana) in the same period. the country partnership strategy (cps) for kazakhstan, 20232027 sets an objective to promote inclusive economic growth by reducing socioeconomic and regional disparities, improving access to services in lagging regions, and enhancing transport connectivity in the country. in this context, the project that diverts through-traffic, including heavy goods vehicles (hgv), currently traversing saryagash city, aligns with government strategy and cps, acting as a catalyst for economic and social development, and representing the most significant public investment in this region in recent decades.
climate and disaster resilience. with temperatures rising faster than the global average, kazakhstan faces increased vulner
