Azerbaijan
Ambassador: The bridge under construction by Azerbaijan and Iran occupies an important place in the North-South corridor
https://report.az/ 19.06.2021
Azerbaijan and Iran have signed a protocol on the construction of a new bridge over the Astarachay River on the border of the two countries. The execution of the agreement on the construction of a new bridge continues.
This was stated by the Iranian Ambassador to Azerbaijan, Seyid Abbas Mousavi.
According to him, the bridge over the Astarachay River will be built jointly, its cost will be 4.7 million euros.
"A protocol was signed within the framework of the visit of the Minister of Roads and Urban Development of Iran Mohammad Islami to Azerbaijan. According to the agreement between the parties, the bridge should be built within a year. This bridge is the most important point connecting the road infrastructures of Iran and Azerbaijan in the North–South transport corridor. Currently, an iron bridge runs over the Astarachay River. This bridge was built during the Second World War, but it is not enough for cargo exchange and transit between the two countries. The trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan is gradually growing. Azerbaijan and Iran plays a big role in the North-South transport corridor. From this point of view, there was a need to build a new bridge," the ambassador said.
He noted that the main goal is to use several types of transport infrastructure between the two countries at a higher level, including rail, road and sea transport.
"Before the presidential elections in Iran, we wanted to summarize the economic activity during the reign of President Hassan Rouhani, and look at the results obtained. In this regard, Deputy Prime Minister of Azerbaijan Shahin Mustafayev visited Tehran. A number of official meetings were held in Tehran. Then three Iranian ministers visited Azerbaijan," the ambassador recalled.
The trade turnover between Iran and Azerbaijan in January-May of this year increased by 27% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 164 million 429 thousand US dollars. In terms of trade turnover, Azerbaijan's exports decreased by 35.4% compared to the same period last year, amounting to 8 million 404 thousand US dollars. Imports from Iran to Azerbaijan increased by 34% compared to the same period last year, to 155 million 891 thousand. US dollars.
Baku Transport Agency is preparing to carry out the "Mobility for Life" campaign
https://haqqin.az / June 21, 2021
The general meeting of the International Public Transport Association, of which the Baku Transport Agency (BTA) is also a member, was held.
According to the press service of the agency, the meeting of the organization, which includes more than 200 organizations responsible for urban transport from 100 countries, was held in an online format. Chairman of the Board of the Baku Transport Agency Vusal Kerimli took part in the meeting.
The meeting reviewed the activities of the organization over the past year and heard budget and audit reports. The charter of the association was amended accordingly, concerning the tasks of the general meeting and member organizations, as well as other organizational issues. At the meeting, the Association's activity plan for 2021 was presented, the main directions were discussed and adopted.
It was noted that the activities envisaged under the new action plan will be held under the slogan "Mobility for life" (Mobility for Life). Through the implementation of these measures, the importance of public transport in the life of the city will be improved, taking into account such key components as competitiveness, health and the environment. The Action Plan includes four main programs: sustainable urban and public transport, non-carbonated and low-carbon mobility, development of systems and services for better urban mobility, redefining public transport and its urban environment.
It was recommended that this program should also be taken into account by member organizations when planning and implementing their activities.
The authorized representatives elected to the Board were approved at the meeting. For the first time, representatives who played an exceptional role in the organization's activities were awarded honorary titles.
In conclusion, Vice-President of the Association, Head of the Office for the Middle East and North Africa, at the same time Chairman of the public transport company of Saudi Arabia Khalid Alhogail was elected the new president of the International Public Transport Association for the next 2-year term.
BTA was accepted into the International Public Transport Association in 2018. The Association was founded on August 17, 1885. The organization, headquartered in Brussels, includes 16 regional branches and coordination centers. The organization has 1800 members from 100 countries. Promotion of public transport, dissemination of best practices, holding international forums and conferences are the main activities of the organization.
An agreement has been reached between the Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan and TRACECA on expanding the geography of the corridor
https://www.trend.az/ 22.06.2021
The Ministry of Transport of Azerbaijan and TRACECA (abbreviation from the English Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia - the program of international cooperation between the European Union and partner countries on the organization of the transport corridor "Europe - Caucasus - Asia") reached an agreement on expanding the geography of this transport corridor.
As Trend reported on Tuesday with reference to the Ministry, Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies Rashad Nabiyev discussed with By TRACECA Secretary General Asset Asavbayev, the current state of cooperation within TRACECA.
During the meeting, priority projects and initiatives to improve the competitiveness of this transport corridor were discussed, as well as prospects for further development.
It should be noted that the parties agreed on cooperation in the areas of expanding the geography of TRACECA, digitalizing the corridor, developing multimodal transportation, increasing the competitiveness of container transportation, developing new projects that can help attract additional cargo flows to the corridor, as well as continuing efforts to promote the TRACECA corridor at the bilateral and international levels.
Nabiyev stressed that this cooperation platform, created in 1998 on the initiative of national leader Heydar Aliyev, is of great importance for Azerbaijan, and the country actively participates in its activities.
In turn, the TRACECA Secretary General touched upon issues related to the Main Multilateral Agreement on International Transport for the Development of the Corridor at the meeting Europe-Caucasus-Asia, strengthening of the organization's activities, initiatives and new projects put forward and discussed during Azerbaijan's chairmanship in the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission, cooperation with the European Union and other issues.
It should be noted that the meeting took place on June 21, 2021 and was also attended by Rufat Bayramov, National Secretary of the TRACECA Intergovernmental Commission for Azerbaijan.
Belarus
Municipal transport on clean energy and domestic electric vehicles - experts on the prospects
https://www.belta.by/ 24.06.2021
The participants of the round table, which was held at the BelTA press center, tell about the place Belarus occupies on the world map of electric transport and when electric cars of domestic production will run along the roads of the country.
Participants of the round table:
Sergey Kabishov, Deputy Head of the Department - Head of the Innovation Department of the Scientific and Technical Department of the Ministry of Industry;
Alexander Belevich, Head of the Research and Engineering Center "Electromechanical and Hybrid Power Plants of Mobile Machines" of the Joint Institute of Mechanical Engineering of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus;
Natalia Inchina - Head of the Department of Regulation of Impacts on Atmospheric Air, Climate Change and Expertise of the Ministry of Natural Resources;
Natalia Leichenko - Head of the Main Department of the concern "Belneftekhim";
Alexey Nikitenko - Head of the Department of Advanced Energy Technologies of RUE "PO "Belorusneft".
Sergey Kabishov: According to Bloomberg, the demand for electric vehicles will only increase. This is facilitated by state support measures for the development of electric transport, the growth of its production and the reduction in the cost of components - primarily batteries - the most expensive node of such equipment. By the end of 2020, the average cost of a battery was $135 per 1 kWh, which is about 13% cheaper than 2019. The downward trend in the price of the unit will continue - due to an increase in output, the introduction of new designs, technologies and methods of energy storage, as well as financing of development and production by a number of leading companies of the world - from the famous Tesla, Mercedes to the Chinese companies gaining popularity. Our scientists are also actively involved in this process: the National Research Center for Materials Science of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus, the United Institute of Mechanical Engineering.
We will follow the path of increasing the number of such cars and the growth of charging stations. We also need to develop and service electric vehicles, train specialists. It is necessary to solve the problem of disposal of such equipment.
The Government has approved a comprehensive program for the development of electric transport until 2025. It includes research and development work, which is carried out according to scientific and technical programs and the state program, the customer of which is the Academy of Sciences. Their main focus is on the development of public urban electric transport and, in particular, electric buses, trolleybuses with autonomous running. Such equipment, as well as classic trolleybuses, which are consumers of electricity, are used on the streets of our cities, allow reducing the amount of harmful emissions.
We see prospects in the transfer of municipal equipment and, in particular, garbage trucks to environmentally friendly electric energy. This will give significant savings and ensure the purity of the air we breathe.
Alexander Belevich: Our institute has mastered the design of electric motors, making an important step in the manufacture of electric vehicles with Belarusian stuffing. We work closely with the Minsk Automobile and Minsk Tractor Plants. JSC Belkommunmash, which traditionally produces trolleybuses, already sells electric buses equipped with its own component base.
The theme of the production of passenger cars has not been forgotten. We are talking about the creation of an electric minivan-type vehicle with the Chinese company Joy Long, in which I came here for a round table. The component base is ready. There is a question of certification, which is possible if there is production, but it is not yet available. The reason is that the manufacturer does not see a sales market: the Belarusian market is limited, and in the Russian Federation the topic of electric transport is just beginning to swing. The Chinese partner is interested in state support measures in our countries. As experience shows, the rapid growth of the production of such equipment begins with customer support. If there is one, the output is growing. As soon as the programs are curtailed, sales fall.
Natalia Inchina: Today 80% of all vehicles are personal cars. So, when replacing hydrocarbon fuel with electric fuel, a significant contribution will be made to environmental protection. This will also have a positive impact on climate improvement - greenhouse gas emissions will decrease. Today, about 4.5% of them are accounted for by cars. With the growth of electric transport, we will kill two birds with one stone - we will reduce emissions of pollutants and greenhouse gases. The only thing, in my opinion, such cars should be a little cheaper. I can't switch to an electric car yet because of its high price.
Since the Strategy to Reduce the Harmful Effects of Transport on the Atmospheric Air of the Republic of Belarus until 2020 was launched in 2013, emissions have decreased. Only in 2020 compared to 2019 - by 7%. This cannot but please. Belarus is working on a strategy for long-term development with a low level of greenhouse gases until 2050, which also covers the transport sector. Belarus has joined the Paris Climate Agreement: we have committed ourselves to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.
Natalia Leichenko: Network development electric filling stations in the country are advancing at a faster pace in comparison with the growth of the electric vehicle fleet. On May 1, there were already 450 of them. By the end of the year, the number of EHS will grow to 600. That is, a basic model of the EHS network will be created, allowing comfortable and unhindered movement on an electric car with a mileage of 150-200 km throughout the territory of the republic.
Further expansion of the charging infrastructure will take into account the growth of the electric vehicle fleet and the level of loading of the EHS network. At the same time, I want to note the following fact. The country's oil refining industry fully meets the needs of the domestic market for motor fuel and other types of petroleum products. The industry generates a significant part of tax revenues due to VAT, excise taxes, export duties, income tax and other tax revenues and fees. Only tax transfers of oil refineries in 2020 amounted to about $650 million.
The development of electric transport in the country is stimulated by significant, including tax, benefits. At the same time, it is obvious that its development will be accompanied by a reduction in the use of cars with internal combustion engines and a decrease in automobile fuel consumption. This will inevitably lead to a decrease in the production of petroleum products and the loading of Belarusian refineries. We believe that further development of the electric charging infrastructure should proceed with the maximum use of equipment manufactured in Belarus for these purposes. When stimulating the development of electric transport, it is necessary to take into account the decline in the role of the oil refining complex and take the necessary measures to replace the falling budget revenues at the expense of other industries - primarily domestic production of electric vehicles, electronic components and accessories to them.
Alexey Nikitenko: In 2018, the Presidential decree on stimulating the use of electric vehicles was adopted. The document appeared when such equipment began to be produced in the mass segment. From that moment on, the Belarusian market of electric vehicles began to take shape, however, beushny.
Today, our country has the largest network of charging stations in the CIS. Belorusneft installed the first of them in 2014. By 2022, new stations will appear in different regions, including Novopolotsk, Polotsk, Baranovichi. It is planned to install new charging stations. The number of electric vehicles on the country's roads it will grow - we expect up to 5 thousand cars by the end of this year.
The costs per 100 km of mileage of an electric car and an average car with an internal combustion engine, which consumes 8 liters of fuel per 100 km, are Br6 and Br15, respectively. That is, an electric car is 2.5 times more economical. Its maintenance costs are also 3 times lower.
Kazakhstan
The Prime Minister instructed to complete the reconstruction of the road from Balkhash to Kapchagai
https://ru.sputnik.kz/ 24.06.2021
The road with a length of more than 800 kilometers, which is part of the Nur-Sultan - Almaty highway, has been under construction for several years
Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Askar Mamin inspected the implementation of investment projects in the Karaganda region.
In the villages of Aksu-Ayuli and Gulshat, the head of government got acquainted with the reconstruction of the Karaganda - Balkhash highways with a total length of 363 km and Balkhash - Burylbaytal - Kurty - Kapshagai with a length of 583 km.
The prime minister "instructed to ensure the opening of traffic throughout the projects this year," the government's press service reported.
align="left"> Askar Mamin and Tan Yuxiang, Chairman of the Board of the Yutong Group Company, took part in a teleconference in the opening of a line of small-node production (CKD) of buses and special equipment of the Yutong brand at the plant in Sarani.The project is being implemented by QazTehna LLP as part of the program to modernize the country's bus fleet. Until now, the factory has been producing buses using the large-node DKD method. The launch of the CKD small-node production line will expand the number of new jobs at the plant to 1 thousand people.
The plant's capacity will be 1,200 buses and 500 units of special equipment per year. The level of localization of production will exceed 50%.
The Prime Minister also got acquainted with the development of the Saran industrial zone, including the progress of the tire production project.
The project is implemented by KamaTyresKZ LLP with the participation of PJSC Tatneft. The plant's capacity at the first stage will be 3.5 million multi-profile tires annually, with further increase to 9 million tires per year.
The plant will increase the level of localization of automotive production and ensure import substitution of tires. At the same time, 40% of the production it is planned to export.
The project is scheduled to be implemented in the IV quarter of 2022. The project cost is 125 billion tenge (about $ 300 million).
Over 1,100 new jobs will be created at the plant. Currently, future employees of the company, mainly from among the residents of Saran, are undergoing training at the tire enterprises of PJSC Tatneft.
Shortage of personnel in the road industry was formed in the Republic of Kazakhstan
https://24.kz/ 25.06.2021
There is an acute shortage of road personnel in Kazakhstan. Even in winter, when the construction and repair of highways were stopped, there were not enough more than 4 thousand specialists in the republic. In the summer, the numbers increase by 3 times at once. In the east of the country, for example, only two large facilities additionally need more than 400 people, the correspondent of "Khabar 24" reports.
In the east of Kazakhstan, the largest construction is currently underway on two roads – Ust-Kamenogorsk-Taldykorgan and Kalbatau-Maykapchagai. More than 17 billion tenge has been allocated for their reconstruction. The quality of repairs is strictly monitored. And not only the customers of the project, but also the Quality Center of road assets.
"If 15 people graduate from our university a year, it is in the road industry, of which only 5 people are employed in the road industry. Of these, only 1 works in the road laboratory. There is a shortage of specialists in the road laboratory. For example, the Kalbatau - Maykapchagai highway now requires a laboratory head, a salary of 450 thousand (about $ 1,000), laboratory assistants – a salary of 250 thousand (about $ 585)," Yerkin Daumov, engineer of the branch of the National Center for Quality of Road Assets in East Kazakhstan region, reports.
There is a shortage of more than 400 specialists on these two roads alone. The customers of the facilities, employees of KazAvtoZhol, collected data from all contractors. Engineers, surveyors, operators of excavators and bulldozers, ordinary workers are especially needed. The builders are coping with the volume of work, but with these personnel, the long-awaited routes could be handed over even ahead of time, experts say.
"The main reason why people don't go into road construction is seasonality. That is, the construction period is from April to November. It turns out that from December to March, people are on vacation without pay. And secondly, these are field conditions. That is, many people want to work in urban conditions," notes Asylbek Nugumanov, Deputy Director of the East Kazakhstan branch of NC "KazAvtoZhol".
"We have combined all the construction that is the construction of industrial and civil, or roads. These are different things. Specialists should prepare in different ways. It is necessary to train specialists -builders of industrial and civil separately, road workers separately, bridge workers," says Bakhyt Kalymov, a veteran of the road sector.
Bridges have been removed from university programs. And these are the most important specialists on the roads, the expert continues. As a result, contractors attract foreign labor. There are more than 50 people on the Kalbatau-Maykapchagai highway. We agree to accept personnel from other areas here as well. And KazAvtoZhol offered the Education Department to start short-term training of in-demand specialists.
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan has introduced an online system for recording accidents
http://kabar.kg/ 22.06.21
An open online system for recording road accidents has been developed and implemented in Kyrgyzstan, accessible to all citizens of the republic, the press service reports GUOBDD.
According to the agency, the system was developed and implemented by the GUOBDD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic together with the LLC "Sanarip Dolboor" with the support of the Soros-Kyrgyzstan Foundation.
The developed online accident accounting system can be the first step in the implementation of the Vision Zero program in Kyrgyzstan.
The Vision Zero international program is aimed at improving road safety and reducing deaths in road accidents to zero.
The concept is based on the principle of "zero tolerance" for deaths on highways and provides for their design from the point of view of traffic safety.
All incident data is generated in working mode and made publicly available on the website "102.kg ".
Over the past three months, 1,238 cases of road accidents have been registered in Kyrgyzstan, in which 1,789 victims are listed.
Aggregated (combined) data on accidents are reflected on the online interactive map of the country on the website 102.kg .
Open data allows for subsequent analytics in order to improve the safety of citizens, optimize traffic and identify dangerous areas.
Project It is aimed at reducing corruption components within government structures, as well as increasing civic participation in monitoring the effectiveness of the activities of these departments.
At this stage, employees of regional departments of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic are undergoing online training on working with the accident accounting system. Next, it is planned to promptly enter data into the online accounting system for each fact of an accident on the ground by employees of the GUOBDD of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic.
The project "Open data on accidents in the Kyrgyz Republic" is aimed at creating an automated system for registering accidents using a mobile version of the system for employees of the State Traffic Police.
The Road Fund will help to remove dependence on the budget and on external assistance - Ministry of Transport of the Kyrgyz Republic
http://kabar.kg/ 25.06.21
The creation of an effective form of consolidation of funds as a Road Fund (DF) will help to remove dependence on the budget, on foreign aid from foreign states and international financial institutions, the road industry of Kyrgyzstan and stop the growth of the burden of public debt. This was stated in the press service of the Ministry of Transport and Communications kr.
As noted in the department, the Road Fund has successfully established itself and operates in countries such as the United States, Great Britain, Japan and the Russian Federation.
The Ministry of Transport stressed that one of the main sources of replenishment of the DF is proposed to establish part of the funds coming from the excise tax on gasoline and diesel fuel, as well as fees related to the use of highways, that is, it is necessary to introduce an international system "user pays". At the same time, to ensure transparency and efficiency of its work, a Supervisory Board will be formed from among authorized state bodies in the field of transport, economy and finance, local self-government, representatives of public associations in the field of road construction, passenger and cargo transportation, which, if necessary, will be able to initiate an independent financial audit of the Road Fund.
What is the current situation in the field of road construction? Over the past twenty years, major investment projects for the construction, rehabilitation and reconstruction of highways on sections of international transport The corridors were carried out by attracting international financial assistance. Thus, by the end of 2019, the share of public investments for the implementation of such projects in the consolidated budget of the road industry amounted to about 80 percent, while external financing of roads accounted for almost 3/4 of all industry resources.
It is well known that road assets built as a result of past investments are deteriorating due to inadequate maintenance. The need for large investments may continue and even double in the future if sufficient repair and reinforcement work is not carried out.
According to the World Bank's research on road management in developing countries, road rehabilitation costs three times more than regular maintenance of this road during the operational cycle of the road.
Current realities are such that the current maintenance, average repair of highways and road structures account for only 10.3% of consolidated resources, which is extremely low. As a result of the annual unsatisfactory maintenance of roads, the life cycle of the highway it is shrinking, which leads to a new need for long-term investments.
Thus, the risks associated with the dependence of the road sector budget on foreign aid from foreign states and international financial institutions, as well as the growing burden of public debt, are critically high.
Providing about 98% of passenger and more than 96% of freight traffic through roads, out of 14,778 km of state and local roads, we have only 22.3% of roads in good condition. Whereas the National Development Strategy of the Kyrgyz Republic for 2018-2040 imposes on the state the responsibility to repair at least 550 km of internal highways annually, as well as to build and repair at least 15 bridges. Therefore, the creation of a Road Fund is the dictate of time.
Uzbekistan
"With an eye to the future, we will build bridges in many more places" - the president
https://www.gazeta.uz/ 25.06.2021
President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev got acquainted with the construction of a number of facilities in Tashkent on June 25, the press service of the head of state reported.
Year A year ago, the president got acquainted with the project of a road and an overpass that will connect the Sergeli district with the center of the capital. On December 26, the bridge along Kipchak Street, which is an important part of this road, was opened. Today, a new road and another bridge to Choponota Street are being built from this bridge.
The length of the bridge over the Small Ring Road and the Salar Canal will be 788 m, and taking into account the exits — 950 m.
The structure is being built "with the use of advanced engineering solutions, using the technology of prestressed reinforced concrete." According to the press service of the president, this increases the strength and safety of the structure. In particular, the work is carried out without stopping traffic on the Small Ring and railway.
"This is an inexpensive, reliable, convenient technology for our people. With an eye to the future, we will build bridges in many more places. Therefore, it is necessary to bring specialists and students here, show them the process, teach them modern technologies," Shavkat Mirziyoyev said.
A new six-kilometer road to Kipchak Street is being built from the bridge. A tunnel will be built at the intersection with the Tashkent Ring Road. Thus, the streets of Choponot in Chilanzarsky The district and Kipchak Street in Sergeli district will be connected.