Construction and operation of the Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD)
Project description
The Bank’s funding for this project totals US $135 million. The 66-km road will be a 9 km stretch of four lanes and 57 km with six lanes, together with bridges, interchanges, toll booths, and other essential infrastructure. By 2038, road freight traffic within the BAKAD area is expected to grow by 87% to 35.9 million tonnes. During the construction phase, the project (including contractors and subcontractors) will create over 1,500 jobs, with priority given to local workers (approximately 70%) and efforts made to recruit vulnerable groups. Construction is already 90% complete and the project is due to be commissioned in spring 2023. BAKAD will redistribute traffic within and around Almaty, serving as a bypass for the city centre. It will enhance transport services, mitigate the negative environmental impact of traffic, reduce travel times, and improve road safety. The project will contribute to environmental improvement in and around the city by alleviating the burden on Almaty’s transportation system. It will also generate employment opportunities and stimulate the economy of the entire region. Furthermore, it will alleviate traffic congestion on the main roads leading to Almaty.Goals and objectives
Financing the construction of a ring road around Almaty, Kazakhstan’s largest city (Big Almaty Ring Road, BAKAD). The largest PPP deal in Central Asia. BAKAD is Kazakhstan’s largest investment outside the oil and gas sector. Once completed, BAKAD will be a 66-km highway around Almaty, a city with a population of 2 million, and is expected to become a link in the trans-Eurasian transport corridor running from Western Europe to Western China.
Project objectives:
- enhancing the transit potential and competitiveness of transit routes through the Bank’s member states (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia)
- promoting trade and economic cooperation between the Bank’s member states and facilitating cross-border freight traffic
- alleviating traffic congestion in and around Almaty
- reducing the cost of transport services
- improving the environment in Almaty by redistributing traffics
- generating employment opportunities and increasing tax revenues
Figures and facts
Effects
Integration effect
The project promotes economic integration between the Bank’s member states. It boosts the effectiveness of integrated markets by establishing transport infrastructure in the largest trade and logistics hub, located at the intersection of the Tashkent–Shymkent–Taraz–Bishkek–Almaty–Khorgos and Almaty–Karaganda–Astana–Petropavlovsk transport corridors, and links to the Europe–Western China road corridor that traverses the Bank’s member states – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Russia. By connecting these corridors, the project facilitates the transportation of goods to and from Kazakhstan and other EDB member states and serves as a transit route. BAKAD will connect international road routes to Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Belarus. It will also connect to the Europe–Western China corridor, accessing the borders of the Bank’s member states. The project promotes cross-border transport along the international Europe–Western China corridor. The Europe–Western China route is virtually the only cross-border road infrastructure project approved by the Governments of Kazakhstan and Russia.
Contribution to the SDGs
The project includes the construction of a bypass for transit around Almaty. It is expected to contribute to a short-term increase in economic output through its US $543.3 million EPC contract and will contribute in the longer term through road tolls.
The project was included in Kazakhstan’s Transport Strategy issued on 30 September 2010; the State Programme for Boosting Industrial and Innovative Development of 19 March 2010; the Programme for the Development of Public-Private Partnerships in Kazakhstan of 29 June 2011; and the Master Plan for the Development of Almaty of 19 December 2012. It is a public-private partnership, with the Bank acting as a lender. It promotes PPP initiatives in the Bank’s member states
Alignment with the principles of investment complementarity and mobilisation
The project is funded by a syndicate of lenders, including the Eurasian Development Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the Islamic Development Bank.
