Korea Expressway Corporation Wins Operation and Maintenance Project for 66km Circular Road in Kazakhstan

Aerial view of the Almaty Ring Road in Kazakhstan (Photo by Korea Expressway Corporation)

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Jiwon] Korea Expressway Corporation, together with SK Engineering & Construction, has secured a 900 billion KRW-scale ring road construction and operation project in Kazakhstan. This project is particularly notable as it is the first time the corporation is directly constructing, maintaining, and operating a road overseas.

On the 26th, Korea Expressway Corporation and SK Engineering & Construction announced that they signed a road operation and maintenance contract with Bakad Limited Liability Company, the project company for the Almaty ring road investment project in Kazakhstan.

This project is a public-private partnership (PPP) to build a 66 km, 4- to 6-lane outer ring road in Almaty, Kazakhstan. SK Engineering & Construction will lead the construction (approximately 625 billion KRW), and after completion, Korea Expressway Corporation and SK Engineering & Construction will establish a local corporation to operate and maintain the road for 16 years. The construction cost is 625 billion KRW, and operation and maintenance will cost 175 billion KRW.

To proceed with the project, the two companies previously signed a financial agreement worth 700 billion KRW with a consortium including the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) in February. By signing the operation and maintenance contract, which was considered the biggest challenge among the preconditions for loan approval, the consortium’s loan was approved, accelerating the project’s progress.

This project marks the first case of Korea Expressway Corporation operating and maintaining an overseas road. The corporation aims to secure contracts for operating and maintaining 1,000 km of overseas roads by 2030. While Korea Expressway Corporation has mainly entered overseas markets through construction supervision and technical consulting, it plans to enhance its competitiveness in its core area of operation and maintenance to establish a long-term and stable revenue structure.

Currently, Korea Expressway Corporation has also been selected as the preferred negotiator for the 100 billion KRW-scale operation and maintenance project of the Padma Bridge in Bangladesh, increasing the likelihood of securing the project this year. A Korea Expressway Corporation official said, "Based on 50 years of accumulated know-how in highway maintenance in Korea, we will provide the best service locally as well."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.