SECOND AGREEMENT TO BE CONCLUDED ON WESTERN REGION ROADS PROJECT

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A cabinet meeting last Friday agreed to conclude the second agreement for "Investment program of western regional road corridor development project". Aimed at development of a vertical (south-north) road network in the western Mongolia, this program foresees a road paving of 743 km, connecting two dry ports in two provinces. The Government and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) had agreed to fund this road network project in several phases. To be added to the first phase covering 103 km that has been under construction since 2011, another 189.7 km road will be paved under funding of USD 125 million from ADB, and the remaining USD 10.5 million from the Government. The impact of the project will be the promotion of regional transport of freight and passengers via the Western road corridor and increased economic development and regional trade. The outcome of the project will be an efficient and safe regional transport route developed in the western region to link Xinjiang autonomous region in China and Russian Siberia through Khovd and Bayan-Olgii provinces of Mongolia. As part of Asian Highway 4, the road will help link Mongolia to the rest of Asia. The road corridor will strengthen Mongolia's transport links to China and Russia as well as other countries in the region.