Kazakh President urges high-quality standards in national and local road construction
The Government of Kazakhstan, through the Ministry of Transport, must oversee all roads across the country, including national highways and local roads. President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev made the statement in his Address to the People of Kazakhstan, titled “Kazakhstan’s Priorities in a New Historical Cycle,” Qazinform News Agency correspondent reports.
The Head of State stressed the need to build a unified, modern network of railways and roads connecting all regions and strengthening Kazakhstan’s transit potential.
This is a strategic task. The volume of cargo transported through our country increases every year. Therefore, we must continue improving road infrastructure, a task that is particularly important for the northern regions, the President said.
In this regard, Tokayev instructed officials to begin expanding the Kokshetau-Petropavlovsk highway. He also stressed the need to support domestic road freight carriers, as foreign transport companies account for more than half of transit traffic through Kazakhstan.
The Head of State also addressed the quality of road construction and reconstruction. He instructed officials to complete the high-quality reconstruction of all road border crossing points next year.
We face an urgent task of ensuring high-quality construction of all roads, both national and local. Citing rules and regulations, executive bodies at the central and local levels have been passing the buck, kicking the issue around and doing everything possible to bury it in a a quagmire of red tape. Therefore, I instruct the Government, through the Ministry of Transport, to oversee all roads, whether national roads, which account for about 26% of the total, or local roads managed by akimats, Tokayev said.
The President emphasized that road construction must meet high quality standards.
I repeat: we need roads of the highest quality. Claims about the quality of bitumen or crushed stone will not be accepted, the Head of State stressed.
According to the President, the main goal is to strengthen the country’s transport potential and increase citizens’ incomes.
Earlier, Qazinform News Agency reported that President Tokayev announced the “People’s Construction” program as Kazakhstan’s largest infrastructure initiative.