How the Kyzylorda – Zhezkazgan road is being constructed in the Aral region.

Dozens of kilometers of brand-new asphalt quickly disappeared beneath the wheels of the press tour "Sapa Kerueni," organized by the National Center for Quality of Road Assets along the Kyzylorda — Zhezkazgan highway. At times, vehicles had to switch to detours laid out next to the reconstructed route to reach other construction sites. The return to the new road was marked by a sudden disappearance of the mild vibrations, allowing for comfortable typing on a laptop.

Upon reaching the first stop, we observed a thick layer of new asphalt that literally elevates the road above the steppe, promising a smooth ride in any weather. The total length of the roadways in the Kyzylorda region exceeds 3,500 km. One of the key highways is the Kyzylorda — Pavlodar — Uspenka — Russia border road, which connects the north and south of Kazakhstan. A stretch of 192 km of this road runs through the Aral Sea region, and it is undergoing reconstruction costing 72.7 billion tenge.

Five construction companies are engaged in the road reconstruction, along with organizations that oversee the quality of the road surface. We visited three construction sites, including the border of the Kyzylorda region with the Ulytau region, where a sign reads "Kyzylorda Oblasty." The new asphalt surface ends neatly at the border with the neighboring region, serving as a reminder of what the road used to be like in the Kyzylorda section.

As reported by Nurtilek Hasenov, head of the Road Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan, traffic on the 140 km of the new road will open by the end of this year. He also reminded us that the road is set to be completed in 2025.

"At the same time, contractors are working on asphalt laying and landscaping. Over 700 people and 400 units of equipment are involved in the work. The project will be fully completed in the Kyzylorda region. Then, next year, the reconstruction of a 208 km stretch of road in the Ulytau region will begin. As of now, contractors have been identified, divided into 8 sections, and are conducting preparatory work, including identifying soil quarries, building detours, document processing, and more," — the speaker reported.

When asked about the quality of the road surface, Hasenov stated that several organizations are conducting the assessments.

"First and foremost, the quality of the road surface is tested in the contractors' laboratories. Additionally, foreign engineers are working here to check the road's compliance with the requirements of international financial institutions. Moreover, the Kyzylorda branch of the National Center for Quality of Road Assets conducts daily monitoring of this project," — he assured.

It goes without saying that the road will come with a 5-year warranty from the contractors. In case of any deficiencies, they will rectify them at their own expense.

Just as the speaker finished, a passenger car approached the crowd of journalists on the road, and the driver shared his impressions of the reconstructed road. It turned out that the man was traveling from Astana to Kyzylorda.

"The quality of the road is excellent. There used to be no road; there was nothing to say about it. If it previously took 14 hours to travel, after the construction of the new road, it's minus 3 hours. When the construction is fully completed, we will be flying," — he smiled.

During the field press conference, Bulatbek Aitbaev, the general director of the National Center for Quality of Road Assets, stated that approximately 70,000 inspection visits have been conducted over the 5 years of the organization's existence.

"More than 15,000 samples of various materials have been collected. One of the effective indicators — over these 5 years, 15 billion tenge worth of various elements of road construction have been either reconstructed or prevented from using materials that do not meet quality standards," — he reported.

He reminded that the participants of the press tour personally checked the evenness and quality of the road both from inside the car and by walking on it.

"Almost all sections of the road are completed but not yet accepted for operation. There are still no road furnishings, markings, signs, lighting, barriers, etc. The quality of the roads being constructed is confirmed by quality assessments. The conclusion comes from the engineering service led by the South Korean company LTD DOHWA Engineering Co, with the Kazakh side represented by M50 Consulting Group," — the speaker stated.

When asked about the quality assessment of the Kyzylorda section, Aitbaev mentioned that over 600 inspection visits have been conducted.

"More than 2,300 samples of various materials have been collected. Of these, 12% were found to be non-compliant. These materials were either replaced or brought up to standard requirements. Overall, this year, more than 100 million tenge worth of various structural layers have been reconstructed, whether it be the foundation or the surface. In total, over the entire period of the project's implementation, more than 300 million tenge worth of work has been reconstructed," — he specified.

He also assured that all major materials used in such large-scale projects undergo a lengthy multi-stage verification process. This work is also carried out on an ongoing basis. When asked about the future plans of the center, he replied that at the beginning of this year, they were instructed to strengthen their capabilities.

"At the beginning of the construction season this year, we were tasked with strengthening our capabilities. We are initiating a series of legislative amendments, changes to regulatory legal acts, etc. in terms of enhancing quality and increasing the accountability of participants and parties in the construction process. My subjective opinion is that we definitely need to strengthen ourselves. Firstly, we need to improve the regulatory framework. Secondly, the accountability of the parties is somewhat blurred. While we conduct quality assessments, we only provide results from the tests we have conducted or the measurements we have performed. Selectively, it is not continuous monitoring. Continuous monitoring is conducted by technical control services and the contractor's quality service. The responsibility of these two services — is the foundation of the quality of the work being carried out. The order you see today, the road you have seen today, can only be ensured when all participants in the process adhere to this order of work. One example of this is the Kyzylorda section of the Kyzylorda — Zhezkazgan highway. The road meets all requirements — width, thickness, geometry," — he concluded.