Narrative
Full Description
Project narrative
In 2017, the Export-Import Bank of China and JSC KazAutoZhol National Company Joint Stock Company (JSC NC KazAutoZhol or азАвтоЖол)— a Kazakh state-owned transportation company — signed a $796 million preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreement for the 763 km Taldy-Korgan-Kalbatau-Ust-Kamenogorsk Road Reconstruction Project. The PBC (loan) carries the following borrowing terms: a 2% interest rate, a 5-year grace period, and a 20-year maturity. The Government of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Finance provided a sovereign guarantee for the loan on April 24, 2017. The loan then legally entered into force in June 2017. The proceeds of the PBC are to be used by the borrower to finance approximately 85% of the cost of a $936 million commercial (EPC) contract between CITIC Construction Co., Ltd and KazAvuoZhol, which was signed in May 2016. The purpose of the project is to reconstruct a 763.5 km long segment of Kazakhstan's national highway network, stretching from Taldykorgan (Taldy-Korgan) — the capital of Almaty oblast — to Oskemen (formerly Ust-Kamenogorsk), which is the administrative capital of the East Kazakhstan oblast. The project will seek to widen the carriageway by up to 9 meters, and facilitate traffic at a speed limit of up to 120 km/h. CITIC Construction Co., Ltd is the general EPC contractor responsible for implementation. However, Todini Central Asia LLP and JSC K-Dorstroy are also involved in implementation. On June 7, 2017, CITIC Construction Co., Ltd accepted an order from the Government of Kazakhstan to commence work. The contract period was 54 months. Construction began in November 2017. By the end of 2018, the project had achieved a 8% completion rate. As of the end of 2020, the project had achieved a 31% completion rate. As of the end of June 2021, the project had achieved a 47% completion rate. In 2023, workers completed the asphalt pavement of the section Km287-Km325. The project was originally expected to reach completion in May 2022.
Staff comments
1. Ust-Kamenogorsk is also referred to as Oskemen, and some reports have referred to this road as Taldykorgan-Kalbatau-Öskemen. 2. The project is also known as the Taldykorgan-Kalbatau-Ust-Kamenogorsk (615-1073 km) Project, the Construction of the 763 km Taldykorgan-Ust-Kamenogorsk Segment of the Almaty-Oskemen Road Project, Reconstruction of the 763 km Taldykorgan-Ust-Kamenogorsk segment of the 1003 km Almaty-Oskemen Road Project, and the TKU National Expressway Upgrade Project. The Chinese project title is 塔尔迪库尔干- 乌斯季卡缅诺戈尔斯克764 公里国家级公路改造项目 or 承建的塔尔迪库尔干-卡尔巴套-乌斯季卡缅诺戈尔斯克公路项目（767公里). The Russian project title is проекту реконструкции автомобильной дороги республиканского значения Талдыкорган – Калбатал - Усть-Каменогорск км 287-1073 or Реконструкция автомобильной дороги республиканского значения "Талдыкорган – Калбатау – Усть-Каменогорск" км 287-1073. 3. In its 2018 financial statements, JSC NC KazAutoZhol disclosed that it signed 4 preferential buyer’s credit (PBC) agreements with China Eximbank in 2017 worth $1,667,577,000 to support 4 road reconstruction projects: a $434.5 million PBC for the Kalbatau–Maikapshagai Road Reconstruction Project (captured via Record ID#54990), a $796 million PBC for the Taldy-Korgan-Kalbatau-Ust-Kamenogorsk Road Reconstruction Project (captured via Record ID#55016), a $253.3 million PBC for the Merke-Burylbaital Highway Reconstruction Project (captured via Record ID#54989), and a $183.95 million PBC for the Astana Bypass Road Reconstruction Project (captured via Record ID#54991) (see that the loans were PBCs at "哈萨克斯坦总理马明视察中国企业承建公路项目": see rest at pg.14 of "Financial Statements for the year ended 31 December 2018"). The combined monetary value of these 4 PBC is $1,667,750,000, which is very close to $1,667,577,000 figure reported in the 2018 financial statements of JSC NC KazAutoZhol. 4. This China Eximbank loan is not included in the China’s Overseas Development Finance Dataset that Boston University's Global Development Policy Center published in December 2020. 5. The borrowing terms of the loan are specified in this official source (https://www.dropbox.com/s/5bx9wt7r2tq10ag/%D0%93%D0%BE%D0%B4%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%BE%D0%B9%20%D0%BE%D1%82%D1%87%D0%B5%D1%82%20%D0%B7%D0%B0%202020%D0%B3.pdf?dl=0).