One of Kazakhstan’s major trunk roads crosses the Irtish River in the city of Semey and leads to central Russia, traversing Omsk and Novosibirsk, as well as to the Chinese border.

It was a concrete bridge constructed in the city center in the 1960s; it was severely aged due to the extreme climate and inadequate operation and maintenance and was in danger of collapse.

The project’s objective was to ensure the safe and smooth flow of traffic on a major trunk road by constructing a new bridge across the river and by constructing access roads in the city of Semey which contributed to the stimulation of the local economy.

As a result of the completion of the new bridge, traffic volume on both banks of the Irtish River increased to an extent that greatly exceeded the assumptions at the time of appraisal.

There was some concern with regard to safety, but the project objective has been satisfactorily achieved overall, and so the effectiveness is judged to be high.