Geographic Focus: Ministries of Transport of Kazakhstan, Kyghyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan

Project Budget : EURO 2,000,000

Contractor : Computer Solution

Implementation timetable : 18 months

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Background and Objectives. Presently delays at border crossings and inland clearance terminals for road freight transporters can be long. Such delays threaten to eliminate the time gains achieved by improved road infrastructure.

TRACECA has already completed projects and plans others to improve this situation. These initiatives include the completed Trade Facilitation project, and two soon to commence projects for the establishment of an Intergovernmental Joint Committee for the Implementation of the TRACECA Multi-Lateral Agreement, and to improve the workings of the TIR system with the International Road Union (IRU).

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is equally concerned that non-physical barriers to trade, including inefficient customs systems, can stifle regional development. The ADB is presently developing a project for rehabilitation of the Almaty-Bishkek road, which is the busiest interstate link on the Central Asia section of the TRACECA route. The estimated project cost would be 100 MUSD in Kazakhstan, and 6,3 MUSD in Kyrgyzstan. For this project the ADB is insisting that the infrastructure investment project includes measures to reduce border crossing delays. Cognisant of the work that TRACECA has done in this domain, the ADB has suggested that TRACECA co-finance the border crossing facilities part of their project. This would reduce the loan burdens of the roads rehabilitation project on both countries concerned, and would ensure that the facilities were integrated into a more comprehensive regional movement for trade facilitation improvements. Such integration could be promoted at policy level through the Intergovernmental Joint Committee for the Implementation of the TRACECA Multi-Lateral Agreement (IJCMLA), as well as "on the ground", through a regional grant/technical assistance project providing modern information technology, telecommunications systems and training in their use.

It would in fact be technically logical to extend the computerisation of the border crossing procedures as widely as possible. Software systems developed and implemented by certain EU member states, by UNCTAD, and by the IRU all allow integration. In practice TRACECA road traffic enters Central Asia through the Port of Turkmenbashi. Most traffic is destined for the several economically active and populous cities of Southern Uzbekistan, Bishkek in Kyrgyzstan, and Chimkent, Taras and Almaty in Southern Kazakhstan. Some traffic deviates towards Khojent or Dushanbe in Tajikistan, and Osh in Southern Kyrgyzstan.

The overall objectives of the project are therefore to improve the conditions for road transport on the most heavily trafficked section of the TRACECA route in Central Asia, concentrating on border crossing facilities. This will be achieved by participating in the Asian Development Bank project for the rehabilitation of the Almaty-Bishkek road, and by extending the assistance provided there to other TRACECA road border crossings.

The inclusion by the ADB of the border crossing on the Almaty-Bishkek road highlights the need for improvements at these points as a condition for infrastructure investments to be made. Real improvements achieved by TRACECA at other border crossings would obviously facilitate further investment. TRACECA participation will furthermore ensure that the design and specification of the systems to be run by the equipment provided are part of a broader regional concept for freight clearance procedures at border crossings, or elsewhere.

The project is principally for the supply of border crossing equipment, but for completeness and integration, will include necessary design and training components associated with the facilities. For promotion of and conformity with a harmonious regional transport policy environment, the project will be linked to the IGCMLA.

With the same oblective Uzbekistan plans to upgrade the TRACECA roads on its territory, which will be about 1500 km long ("Uzbek Corridor"). It will include rehabilitation of the existing national roads as well as some new construction. The Uzbek Corridor will connect Uzbekistan to Europe via Kazakhstan in the north?west and Turkmenistan in the south?west and to China and Far East via Kyrgyzstan in the east.

The road network in Uzbekistan comprises about 43,500 km of roads, of which 96 per cent are paved. However, the condition of the roads is far from satisfactory and is deteriorating rapidly. The Road Agency, Uzavtoyol, is responsible for public roads and highways, while Uzavtotrans controls the state?owned entitles involved in road transport such as the transport companies. Uzbektranstroy and Uzvodstroy are state?owned contractors, which carry out the construction work in the transport sector. They all report to the Cabinet of Ministers.

The Government of Uzbekistan intends to upgrade the Uzbek section of the TRACECA corridor route. This is consistent with the objective of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in its Strategy for Uzbekistan to develop the transport sector, in recognition of the land locked nature of the Central Asia region and the need to establish efficient trade routes to international markets. In response to The Uzbek Governement request, the Bank has agreed to cooperate with the State Road Agency, Uzavtoyol and the Road Board in preparing an investment which will facilitate and support the improvement of the road network in Uzbekistan . A pre?feasibility study has been carried out to identify priority road sections for rehabilitation between Tachkent (Uzbekistan) and Osh (Kyrghystan).). The Government of Uzbekistan now wishes to appoint consultants to undertake a feasibility study for the selected road, followed by detailed engineering design and the preparation of tender documents.

Key Issues. The principal activities of the project would be:

• to review the previous TRACECA work for border crossing systems improvement;
• to liaise with the IJCMLA; · to inspect the present border crossing facilities, IT systems and telecommunications;
• to design modern integrated Border Crossing systems in collaboration with the national authorities concerned, and according to international standards;
• to design interfaces between the border crossings and other necessary centers (e.g. SAFETIR administration in Geneva, inland terminal clearance stations, national centers for statistics and monitoring); to design the remote terminals where necessary;
• to liaise with the Asian Development Bank and beneficiaries for the design of the Customs Facilities on the Almaty-Bishkek road, and in relationship to other ADB road investment projects under development (in Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan);
• to liaise with the EBRD and beneficiaries concerning the customs facilities at the Port of Turkmenbashi, and eventually concerning possible EBRD road investments, presently on hold;
• to specify and procure the IT and telecommunications equipment necessary to equip the border crossings for modern procedures, according to TACIS rules on supply contracts;
• to install the equipment and to train the beneficiaries in its use.

The principal activities of the module B would be:
To achieve by the rehabilitation of the "Selected Road(s)", on the basis of the recommendations of the pre?feasibility study. Specifically, the Consultant is required to:
(i) determine the rehabilitation works needed to extend the useful life of the road for the most economic number of years, taking the existing and forecast traffic loads into account, and
(ii) prepare detailed engineering designs and tender documents for the
rehabilitation and assist The Uzbek Government in the tendering procedures.

Latest updated version February 2000