PRIMEX continues to widen its global reach, this time by being part of an international team of experts that will undertake the design of a major road reconstruction project in the Eurasian country of Kazakhstan. Nestled at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, Kazakhstan is the 9th largest country on the planet, and, at one time, was the second largest republic in the former Soviet Union (USSR). Its territory of 2,727,300 sq km is greater than Western Europe.
PRIMEX consultant, Angelito Corpuz, was mobilized on 21 April 2010 as Social and Resettlement Specialist for ADB TA 7409-KAZ: MFF CAREC Transport Corridor 2 – Aktau-Beineu Road Project in Kazakhstan. As such, Mr. Corpuz is expected to prepare the following: (i) land acquisition and resettlement framework; (ii) land acquisition and resettlement plan; (iii) poverty and social analysis; (iv) gender analysis; and (v) indigenous peoples development plan.
The Project will involve the reconstruction of the 222-km Uzbekistan section of CAREC Corridor 2 Road that is part of the A380 highway. Corridor 2 aims to connect Uzbekistan to Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.
Through this infrastructure project, ADB envisions an integrated, efficient, and safe road network in Uzbekistan and improved regional connectivity. The A380 highway will also connect to another ADB-assisted road project being processed in Kazakhstan. Once the two highways are completed, they will allow Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries direct access to the Caspian Sea via Aktau, and eventually the Black Sea, via corridors to be built in Azerbaijan and Georgia. This will shorten travel time, reduce transport costs, improve safety, and support growth and poverty reduction.