Uzbekistan finishes refurbishment of int'l motorway worth $323 mln

TASHKENT. Oct 28 (Interfax) - The 240-km long part of the motorway connecting Kungrad and Beyneu has been put into operation in Uzbekistan, the Uzbek media reported on Saturday.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attended the ceremony by videoconference.

"The international transportation distance on the territory of our country will now be reduced to 1,000 kilometers, and the transportation costs will decrease by 25%," Mirziyoyev said.

The new motorway will become part of the logistics network connecting the country to European markets via the ports of the Caspian and Black seas, and the daily transport flow on the part of the A-380 international corridor, which runs through Uzbekistan, will triple, the president said.

The part of the motorway was worn out due to years-long use and the sharply continental climate of the Aral Sea region, and therefore a project worth $323 million was implemented to refurbish it, he said.

Participants from the two ends of this 240-km long motorway, from the Kungrad district of Karakalpakstan and the Davud-ota customs post on the Kazakh border joined the event by videoconference.

More than 200 retail outlets and service points and industrial enterprises will be create along the new motorway. That will create 2,000 jobs and then another 5,000 jobs.