The Government of Belarus is planning to launch prequalification for the country's first PPP project, the M10 motorway, in the first quarter of 2019.

The project involves the design, reconstruction, financing and maintenance of five sections of the motorway, which links Kobrin, Gomel and the Belarusian-Russian border, with the total length of 85.25km. Capital expenditure is estimated at EUR185.8 million (US$211.8 million).

The reconstruction will increase the number of traffic lanes from two to four and increase the load per axle from 10 tonnes to 11.5 tonnes. Speed limit for cars will be raised from 90kmph to 120kmph, for trucks – from 70kmph to 100kmph.

An information memorandum prepared for a roadshow of the project, hosted yesterday in London by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), details plans to consult with interested parties from the third quarter of 2019 and receive final bids for the project in the first quarter of 2020.

The government aims to achieve financial close in the second half of 2020, enabling construction to begin before the end of the year.

As well as for the development of public-private partnerships, the M-10 has strategic importance for transport infrastructure across Belarus and the wider region. On the western side, it connects the North Sea – Baltics core Trans European Network Transport corridor and, on the eastern side, it provides connectivity to the M3 highway connecting Moscow with Ukraine via Bryansk (near Russian - Belarus borders).

The memorandum details that several key multilateral lenders, such as the EBRD, International Finance Corporation (IFC) and Eurasian Development Bank (EDB), have expressed strong interest in financing the project.

The prequalification round will be the first of a three-stage tender process. It is envisaged that a maximum of five applicants will be shortlisted and invited to participate in next stages of the process.