Uzbekistan as a rapidly growing country has adopted a conception on developing motor roads of public use worth nearly USD 600 million for 2007-2010.

The republic plans to reconstruct and build motor roads of 679 kilometers including 489 kilometers of parts of international transport routes and state roads of 190 kilometers under the development program. Here Uzbekistan finances these projects, using its own funds and credits of international finance institutions. To reconstruct two parts of the Guzar-Bukhara-Nukus-Beineu (A 380) the country attracted credit worth USD 75.3 million of the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

The credit agreement was signed last Monday by Hong Wai, head of ADB Office in Uzbekistan and Rustam Azimov, First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Uzbekistan.

The credit will be invested in construction works, purchase of road construction equipment and project management.

The project totally costs USD 173.5 million. It ensures to reconstruct aggregate superhighway of 131 kilometers long, particularly, two parts: 90 and 41 kilometers in Karakalpakstan in north-west of Uzbekistan. The project duration is 4 years.

Last December the ADB Advisory Board agreed to offer its credit for the project implementation. The Uzbek government is to finance the project, using its own funds of USD 98.2 million as well.

Since 1995 the ADB has offered Uzbekistan total credits of more than USD 1 billion to implement project in education, agriculture, modernization of transport communications and power engineering and 69 grants of technical assistance worth USD 37.24 million.

The A 380 highway of 1.204 thousand kilometers long is a part of transit corridor connecting Uzbekistan with Afghanistan and Turkmenistan in south and with Kazakhstan in north.

"Uzbekistan today" news agency