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KABUL (TCA) — The Asian Development Bank on December 6 said its Board of Directors has approved $330 million in grant financing to support the completion of Afghanistan's national Ring Road, a vital national strategic corridor and a critical part of the country’s regional integration agenda. Continue reading
BISHKEK (TCA) — On November 10, Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Sapar Isakov held an emergency Government meeting to discuss the critical situation on the country’s roads. The Prime Minister signed two Government resolutions, according to which the Main Patrol Police Directorate has been abolished and the Main Directorate for Road Traffic Safety of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be established. The staff of the new unit will be increased. “Recruitment of employees should be carried out transparently and on a competitive basis. It is necessary to create a new department of professionals who are not involved in scandals and corruption," he said. Road accidents record From November 1 to 9, 2017, 208 road accidents were recorded across the country, in which 42 people were killed and 321 injured. Two accidents, which killed 5 and 10 people respectively, caused a wide public response. In 10 months of 2017, 5,197 road accidents were registered in the country, in which 695 people died and 7,839 were injured. “It is vital to understand what is happening on our roads, and what is the reason for so many road accidents in which our compatriots died,” PM Isakov said. Causes of accidents Since the beginning of 2017, traffic rules violations have risen 12% compared to 2016. According to the Patrol Police, the main causes of the accidents were speeding, violation of maneuvering rules, driving along the oncoming lane, violation of the overtaking rules, and drunk driving. The low level of drivers’ training and the low culture of driving were also among the causes of accidents. Since 2010, the number of vehicles has increased almost 2.5-fold in Kyrgyzstan (from 400 thousand to 1.15 million), Interior Minister Ulan Israilov said. More than 417 thousand vehicles were registered in Bishkek alone. The number of inexperienced drivers has increased, he added. There were cases when traffic accidents were committed in three or four days after receiving a driver's license. Drivers often do not pass traffic rules tests and simply buy a driver's license. Urgent measures needed It is necessary to exclude corruption when obtaining a driver's license, PM Isakov said. He ordered the Ministry of Education and Science to check all of 223 driving schools operating in the country and proposed creating a single testing center for driver's licenses. Isakov reminded that on August 30, 2017, the Government approved an Action Plan to reform the road safety system in Kyrgyzstan. He ordered relevant state bodies to conduct a thorough analysis of the Plan’s implementation within a week. The Ministry of Internal Affairs was tasked to submit a bill providing for toughening of criminal and administrative liability for violation of the Road Traffic Rules. The government needs money from the state budget to install video cameras on the roads, parliament members say. In Bishkek, the patrol police now use special cars with cameras and equipment to record violations and search for cars that are wanted. The MPs proposed that the local governments install cameras and that 50% of the fines...
BISHKEK (TCA) — The number of traffic accidents has increased dramatically in Kyrgyzstan over the last 10 years, with 11,553 people killed, including 958 children. For the first 10 months of 2017, 695 people died in road accidents in Kyrgyzstan, 24.kg news agency reported citing the Kyrgyz Ministry of Internal Affairs. Last month, during the presidential election campaign, Kyrgyzstan’s Vice Prime Minister Temir Jumakadyrov with his driver and assistant were killed in a road accident, when a Kamaz truck hit their car near the capital, Bishkek. The Kamaz driver had crossed into the oncoming traffic lane which resulted in a deadly head-on crash. The peak of auto-accidents in Kyrgyzstan is summer, says a local safety expert, Artur Medetbekov. According to him, there are many reasons contributing to this sad number of traffic accidents on Kyrgyz roads. These are the increasing number of cars, irresponsible behaviour of drivers who do not follow the traffic rules (especially young drivers), drunk drivers, the lack of patrolling police officers and corruption among them, and the natural conditions of Kyrgyzstan. “Most of Kyrgyzstan is mountains. People die from landslides and snowslides in Too-Ashuu, Ala-Bel, Otmok mountain passes every year,” says Artur Medetbekov. Every winter and spring, landslides and avalanches are a usual phenomenon at mountain passes. The expert also mentioned that another reason for high numbers of injuries and deaths from road accidents is right-handed cars. The Kyrgyz roads have been designed for left-handed cars. But a local activist, Aibek Baratov, believes that the right-handed cars are not to be blamed for the increase in road accidents. “If a person drives badly in a right-handed car, he still will be doing the same thing in a left-handed car,” he said, adding that the number of road accidents has decreased in the last couple of years thanks to social media users who have recorded the bad behaviour of drivers on roads and shamed them online. Dastan Bekeshov is a parliamentarian who has been raising this issue in the Kyrgyz parliament. The MP suggested tougher punishment of bad drivers by introducing penalties up to a million som (nearly US $15,000). Also, such drivers might lose their driver’s license for up to 3 years if Bekeshov’s proposal finds support. But it is at the stage of discussion only and haven't gone any further yet. How do Kyrgyz drivers obtain their driver's licenses? In Kyrgyzstan, there are no probationary plates. In order to obtain a driver's license, you need to attend a 3.5-month long drivers' school. After that, you need to take a traffic rules and a driving test. But many fail in those tests. Unfortunately, many drivers prefer buying a license, as corruption is widespread in the driver’s schools and road police department. According to Aibek Baratov, raising penalties will help solve the problem partly but not completely. “We need to solve this issue comprehensively,” the activist says.
ASHGABAT (TCA) — The first high-speed highway in Turkmenistan, connecting the capital Ashgabat and the Caspian port city Turkmenbashi, will be opened in September 2020, Newspaper Golden Age reports citing the Ministry of Automobile Transport of Turkmenistan. The Ashgabat–Turkmenbashi highway is being built by the Turkish company Polimeks Insaat Taahhut we Sanayi Ticaret A.S. The company will build a railway bridge and cloverleaf junction at the 24th kilometer of Ashgabat–Dashoguz section of the new highway. The future road is designated exclusively for high-speed traffic. Around 60 large and small multi-level flyovers and more than 70 underpasses, and bridges across mud streams and Karakum River will be built along the road. This is the first project of its kind in Turkmenistan. The three-lane highway will be 34.5 meters wide. Each side of the road will have an emergency lane, a ditch and a metal fence to prevent animals and people entering the road. The entire highway will be built according to world standards. The entry and exit of the highway will be equipped with toll points. Smaller toll points will be placed on the highway entry from other cities along the way. There also will be traffic police stations equipped with surveillance cameras. Every 50 km of each side of the motorway will have a car parking and recreation zones for drivers and passengers. Large recreation centers with shops, restaurants, motels, covered and open parking lots, fuel stations, and other facilities will be built at the 201st and 420th kilometers of the highway. Monitors informing motorists on weather, road conditions and speed limits will be installed along the road. There will be telephone booths every two kilometers for calling evacuation trucks, traffic police and road maintenance services. The construction of Ashgabat– Turkmenbashi highway will give an opportunity to improve the quality of logistic services, expand international transit and transport infrastructure, increase trade turnover with neighboring countries, the export and transit of goods via the Turkmenbashi International Seaport.
DUSHANBE (TCA) — On September 13, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon and President of the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) Dr. Bandar Hajjar gave the official start to the construction and reconstruction of Kulob-Shamsiddin Shohin section of Kulob–Kalaikhumb motor road, the press service of the Tajik president reported. Continue reading
DUSHANBE (TCA) — Lead engineers and senior transport officials from member countries of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program committed to accelerate the implementation of road safety initiatives at a meeting in Dushanbe, Tajikistan on 30-31 August, ADB’s country office in Dushanbe said. Continue reading
