NUR-SULTAN (TCA) — Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin and Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov, on July 17 in Kazakhstan’s Mangystau region, attended the opening ceremony of the international highway Beineu–Akzhigit–the border of Uzbekistan.

Mamin congratulated on the opening of traffic on this international motor road and stressed the importance of the event for the development of the transport infrastructure of Central Asia, increasing trade volumes, and taking advantage of the region’s transit potential, the press service of the Prime Minister of Kazakhstan reported.

The opening of this road is a symbol of the intensive development of strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, Mamin said, adding that “it is deeply symbolic that this project started in the Year of Kazakhstan in Uzbekistan”.

According to the head of Kazakh Government, in recent years, relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have reached a qualitatively new level and have acquired a steady positive trend. This is confirmed by the annual growth in bilateral trade, which amounted to $3 billion last year. Since the beginning of this year, there has been a positive growth trend.

Prime Minister of Uzbekistan Abdulla Aripov spoke about the strategic importance of the event for the two neighboring fraternal countries of Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

“The successful implementation of this project will give a new impetus to the Silk Road trade flows and the development of our entire region,” said Aripov, adding that “this highway is, first of all, of great importance for the further activation of trade and economic relations between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.”

SHYMKENT, Kazakhstan (TCA) — A court in Kazakhstan on July 17 sentenced a labor union leader to seven years in prison after finding him guilty of embezzlement, a case he called politically motivated, RFE/RL’s Kazakh Service reported.

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KABUL (TCA) — A Swedish aid group says it has closed dozens of health centers it was operating in Afghanistan following threats by the Taliban, RFE/RL’s Radio Free Afghanistan reported on July 17.

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ASHGABAT (TCA) — The Administration of the Turkmen capital Ashgabat last week hosted a presentation of a large-scale social project — the construction of a new residential compound with high-rise buildings in the northern part of the city where more than 100,000 people would live, the State News Agency of Turkmenistan reported.

Total area allocated for the grandiose complex of more than 200 buildings is 744 hectares. It is planned to erect 180 buildings, ranging from 12 to 35 floors in height, with 17,836 apartments. The entire compound is designated for living of more than 107,000 people. The new city including an administration centre, service and medical facilities, cultural centres, educational and other social infrastructure facilities will appear in the north of Ashgabat.

The new compound’s infrastructure will be based on a smart city model.

The project, which was approved by President Gurbanguly Berdymukhamedov and received an unofficial name of Ashgabat City, provides for the construction of the building of local administration and other government facilities, four secondary schools for 3,000 students and the same number of kindergartens which would be able to host 1,200 children, as well as original buildings of Turkmen National Conservatory and a specialized musical school.

The facilities of social and living infrastructure will include a multifunctional hospital, two clinics, two shopping and entertainment centres, shops and cafes, a stadium and sports complex, and four multilevel car parking lots. It is also planned to build branch offices of Türkmenbaşy and Halkbank State Commercial Banks.

It was said at the presentation that 35-storey buildings will be constructed in Turkmenistan for the first time, so seismic resistance technologies are of particular importance.