Astana, Kazakhstan, July 25
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Kazakhstan has raised the issue of revitalizing the construction of the Russian section of the "Western Europe - Western China" corridor, Vice-Minister of Transport and Communications Mereke Pshembaev said.
"In accordance with the existing data, the work in the territory of Russia began in 2012 in some separate areas. The construction work on the entire route will be covered only from 2016. In this regard, we have repeatedly raised and continue to raise this issue before the Russian side," Pshembaev said at a press-conference in Astana.
The length of the "Western Europe-Western China" corridor on the territory of the Russian Federation is 2477 kilometers.
"The section of the "Western Europe - Western China" corridor passing through the territory of China has been completed. Regarding the Kazakh section, the work will be completed by the end of this year and the traffic will be opened in157 kilometers. And in general, completion of construction passing through Kazakhstan`s territory is scheduled for 2015, " he said.
At present, the construction work is underway on the 1345 kilometers, which employs about 35,000 people, and where 4,000 units of road-building machinery have been mobilized. The reconstruction has started this year on the last section of the Tashkent-Shymkent corridor with the length of 100 kilometers, he said.
The total length of the Kazakhstan section of the Western Europe - Western China international transit corridor is 2787 kilometers from Khorgos on the border of China to Martuk on the border with the Russian Federation with an access to Orenburg, through the cities of Almaty, Shymkent, Kyzylorda, Aktobe with an access to Russia and Uzbekistan.
Some 2452 kilometers of area is subjected to reconstruction in total, including 1390 kilometers - under the first technical category of four-lane traffic- from Khorgos on the border with China to Kyzylorda, and 1062 kilometres - under the second technical category - from Kyzylorda to Martuk. Some 1,079 kilometers out of the total length of the corridor from Khorgos to Turkestan will be covered by cement concrete pavement. The cost of the project is 825 billion tenge (183.52 tenge = 1 dollar). The main part of the corridor is funded by international financial institutions. The work was completed in the period of 2010-2013 in total and the traffic was opened in 1,727 kilometers.
Edited by CN