OREANDA-NEWS. October 02, 2009. The first section of the Atyrau-Aktau road in Kazakhstan, reconstructed with the support of the EBRD, was inaugurated in Atyrau, the centre of the country’s oil and gas industry, reported the press-centre of EBRD.

The 400 km section of the road between Karabatan and Beyneu, is part of a larger project which has improved road access between Atyrau, the centre of the oil industry in western Kazakhstan, and the country’s main Seaport of Aktau, located on the eastern shore of the Caspian Sea.

The EBRD financed part of the construction of the road with a US119 million sovereign loan to the Republic of Kazakhstan. With a total project cost of US 229 million, the rest of the funds were provided from the Kazakh state budget.

“Supporting infrastructure modernisation in countries where the EBRD operates is among the Bank’s key priorities. The opening of this section of the road is a concrete demonstration of this commitment. The Atyrau-Aktau road will improve transport links in the country and will bring important benefits to the economy of Kazakhstan”, said Thomas Maier, EBRD Director for Infrastructure.

The reconstruction of the Atyrau-Aktau road, with a total length of 900 km, started in 2006. The remaining section of the road is currently at the planning stage and is expected to be built with the support of international financial institutions.

The motorway is part of the northern section of the TRACECA Corridor, transport route between Europe and Asia, alternative to the TransSiberian route.

To date the EBRD has invested more than EUR2.3 billion in the economy of Kazakhstan, of which EUR 385 million has been in the infrastructure sector.