ASTANA – The Astana-Schuchinsk toll road earned more than 1 billion tenge (US$3 million) in the first 10 months of 2017, 4 percent more than 2016’s 964 billion tenge (US$2.9 billion), according to the KazAvtoZhol Company’s press service.
Photo credit: kazautozhol.kz
Overall, fees amounted to 1.14 billion tenge (US$3.4 million) in 2016, and reached 1.1 billion tenge (US$3.3 million) in 2015.
“The expected revenues for this year are 1.3 billion tenge [US$3.9 million]. The Astana-Schuchinsk toll road collected more than 1 billion tenge [US$3 million]. The vehicle growth rate amounted to 1 to 1.5 percent per year. The total volume of vehicles was 2.5 million in 2016. The expected figure for this year is 2.6 million,” said KazAvtoZhol Toll Road System Department head Zhandos Zhunusov at a Nov. 17 briefing.
Construction is underway on the Astana-Temirtau and Almaty-Kapshagai toll roads. Toll testing is planned this year.
“A 50-percent discount is provided for vehicles of up to a 1 tonne carrying capacity registered in the areas adjacent to the Astana-Schuchinsk highway. They can also purchase a monthly fee of 1,000 tenge (US$3) per year,” he added.
“The early-payment system was introduced to ensure system throughput and to reduce congestion. Advance payment can be made through the Qiwi, Kassa 24 and Cyberplat terminals. Online payment is also available through the Smart pos service, Halyk Bank, Sberbank, Kaspi Bank and ATF Bank,” he said.
A length of 49.3 kilometres of road prone to snow disruptions was identified through the winter road maintenance plan, and measures are planned for snow retention in these areas as well as road transport emergency preparedness. Round-the-clock work by drivers and machine operators on duty in winter has been approved and 54 mobilised units of necessary equipment provided.
A number of road projects are being implemented as part of the Nurly Zhol programme in the North Kazakhstan region, said KazAvtoZhol regional office head Bolatbek Aitbayev.
The Kokshetau-Petropavlovsk highway was opened in 2016, and reconstruction work on 60 kilometres of the Petropavlovsk-Kurgan highway has begun. The project is scheduled to be complete in 2019. More than 200 people are involved in these works and 96 percent of road building materials are of domestic production.
“The development of transport infrastructure is of great attention in the region. As a result, the share of the roads in good and satisfactory condition increases,” said Aitbayev.
