TASHKENT (Bernama) – Uzbekistan will build 517 km of new roads in 2012, including 165 km of roads with cement concrete pavement, Uzavtoyul state joint stock company (Uzatoyul SJSC) said on Saturday. The Uzbek national highway will be also built as part of the road infrastructure and services development plan.

Besides the highway, some 240 sites – 19 campsites, 18 motels, 36 multi-fuel filling stations, 49 gas filling compressor stations, 78 points of emergency call of medical services, 31 short-term parking lot with sanitary conditions and nine edifices with contemporary service tourism services will be built in 2012.

In addition, reconstruction of 204 km of existing road pavement and maintenance of 3,500 km of roads are planned during the year.

544 running meters of overpasses will be constructed and industrial bases at 5 road sector enterprises will be modernized.

Most of the work will be carried out on sections of highways that are part of the Uzbek national highway.

As previously reported, the National programme for the construction of the first category worth US $3.44 billion is approved by the President of Uzbekistan, in May 2009. It is planned to build four sections of roads with total length of 1,501 km to 2015 in the frame of the programme.

Financing of the construction, aimed for 2011-2015 years, is carried out by the Republican Road Fund ($1.79 billion), the Fund for Reconstruction and Development of Uzbekistan ($68 million) and loans from international financial institutions ($1.432 billion).

In addition to the main Uzbek contractor, Uzavtoyul, the German company GP Papenburg and South Korean POSCO Engineering and Construction, and Kuk dong are involved in the project.