00:01A major highway in Central Asia is being expanded as part of efforts to improve freight transport along a trade
00:09corridor, connecting China with markets for the West, including Europe.
00:14In western Uzbekistan, a 25-kilometer section of the A380 is being widened from two to four lanes, improving connections
00:23between regional cities and the wider highway network leading towards Kazakhstan.
00:27A separate 240-kilometer section of the highway was completed in 2024.
00:49Construction on the 25-kilometer section is now about 90% complete,
00:54with the remaining roads surfacing and bridge works due to be finished by the end of the year.
01:08The wider road improvement program has a budget of $383 million, including $274 million in loans from the Asian Development
01:18Bank and a $109 million contribution from the Uzbek government.
01:23But faster highways do not necessarily mean faster border crossings.
01:28And along with investing in hard infrastructure, at the same time we work on modernization of border crossing points.
01:36So modernization means basically to upgrade the facilities and also management and governance of it and digitalize it, like for
01:44example electronic queuing system for trucks.
01:46For a country without direct access to the sea, this highway is a vital trade link.
01:51Improving it could help to make the regional trade more competitive, faster and cheaper.
01:57Dylbar Primva, Euronews, Karakal, Pakistan.
01:59Dylbar Primva, Euronews, Karakal, Pakistan.
01:59Thank you very much.
01:59This is the scrutiny and today you bow down if you will,
02:01Person in the building against Birmingham and allow you to address their experiences.
