Azerbaijan, Georgia and Kazakhstan are among 11 countries set to benefit from a $400 million Asian Development Bank investment aimed at cutting freight times and costs along key Central Asian transport corridors.
The financing will support the replacement of outdated infrastructure at border crossing points and the modernisation of payment and inspection systems.
Other countries set to benefit from the programme include Afghanistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Around $320 million will be provided through standard loans, with $65 million in concessional loans, which offer borrowers more favourable terms, and $15 million in grants.
The programme is also expected to attract around $150 million in co-financing from development partners and specialised trust funds.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) says the investment is needed as growing freight traffic puts greater pressure on transport corridors in Central Asia, including the Middle Corridor connecting China with Europe.
Average border waiting times in the region more than doubled between 2010 and 2014, rising from 6.3 hours to 14.1 hours, according to monitoring data from the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program, a regional development initiative.
The ADB’s board of directors has approved the $400 million transport investment project.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin has said that he thinks there is a chance of a peace being reached with Ukraine. He told the Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Russia that he believed there was "a chance of finding a solution," to the conflict.
The Iranian Health Ministry said at least 18 people were killed and 142 others injured in U.S. airstrikes carried out between 30 August and 2 September.
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Start your day informed with the AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top stories for the 3rd of September, covering the latest developments.
The Iranian Army has again struck at U.S. bases in Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates in retaliation for U.S. attacks on southern and western parts of Iran late on Tuesday, which reportedly killed 18 people and injured more than 100 others.
A unique architectural monument dating back to the 9th to 12th centuries has been discovered in the village of Gargara, in the Korez village commune in Dangara district in Tajikistan.
Japan and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime have launched a $9.4 million, two-year project across five Afghan provinces to help former poppy-growing families and expand drug prevention and treatment services.
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Israel is ready to move Palestinians from Gaza as soon as the U.S. approves, the country’s Defence Minister Israel Katz has said. He told a conference hosted by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth on Wednesday that there was “no real solution” for Gaza without migration.
Flights between Central Asia and Russia have faced widespread disruption, with aircraft diverted, turned back or cancelled amid restrictions in Russian airspace and conflicting claims from Moscow and Kyiv over aviation safety.
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