Kazakhstan wants to develop roads and railway routes so that they also generate income for neighboring countries. This was reported by Qazaqyia.kz citing Kursiv Media.
Deputy Prime Minister — Minister of National Economy Serik Zhumangarin discussed plans and possible financing mechanisms with World Bank representative Abebe Adugna.
What was discussed beyond infrastructure
Beyond infrastructure, they discussed the economic situation in Kazakhstan and further reforms.
Zhumangarin recalled that over 33 years of cooperation, with the support of the World Bank, more than 50 projects worth over $8 billion in total were implemented in the country. They covered transport, education, environmental protection, green technologies and digitalization.
Abebe Adugna noted the positive dynamics of Kazakhstan's economy, including in terms of growth and investment activity.
New transport routes
Speaking about new transport routes, the minister proposed looking beyond Kazakhstan: roads and railway lines should connect Central Asia with other regions.
"Kazakhstan's infrastructure is only the first step toward creating a large unified infrastructure chain of Central Asia. This is not only about improving our internal roads and railways. We need to make all these roads profitable for us and for neighboring countries," Zhumangarin said.
The World Bank's position
World Bank representatives noted that investments in infrastructure must be accompanied by changes in the work of state institutions and in regulatory rules.
In their assessment, this will increase the effectiveness of projects and create conditions for growth in productivity and innovation. The Bank confirmed its readiness to continue working with Kazakhstan on mechanisms for financing infrastructure.
Earlier, Kursiv reported on how the World Bank recommended that Kazakhstan change its growth model.