Kazakhstan will build the Beineu-Shalkar highway to connect its western regions with Uzbekistan. Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Alikhan Smailov announced this at the summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization held in Tashkent.
Alikhan Smailov said that it was also important to develop transport links in the region, because 7 out of 10 ECO member states did not have access to the world ocean.
He noted that today Kazakhstan gave priority to the development of the Trans-Caspian international transport route and was actively involved in infrastructure and logistics projects. In order to increase their capacity, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey are simultaneously implementing road maps for the elimination of obstacles and the development of the Middle Corridor until 2027.
They significantly increase the capacity of the route, he underscored.
According to him, the Beineu-Shalkar highway will be built to connect Uzbekistan with the western provinces of Kazakhstan, which will serve to complete the completion of the TRACECA 8th highway.
The Middle Corridor is the transport and trade route connecting Asia and Europe, passing through several countries in the region. It is an alternative route to the traditional North and South corridors. The route starts from China and crosses Central Asian countries such as Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. Then it reaches Europe through the Caspian Sea, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey.