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The Ministry for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan has issued a Request for Expressions of Interest for a public-private partnership project involving the design, implementation and operation of  a tolling system on certain public roads in the country. 

In total, the project will cover 15,000km of roads. The length of the contract will be 13 years. The estimated total investment required over the entire duration is KZT380.8 billion (US$ 1.16 billion).

The tolling system to be proposed by the private partner should consist of the following: 14 gate-type tolling plazas; 175 tolling gantries; 50 mobile monitoring vehicles; 22 user servicing offices; 76 payment machines; 170 000 on-board units; 4 750 000 RFID tags and weather controls. It should include both gate-type tolling and free-flow tolling systems, with the latter based on both GNSS technology (satellite positioning) and RFID technology (radio frequency identification).

The private partner will be responsible for creating and installing the tolling system, any road pavement widening works required for its installation and connecting the tolling facilities to power supply and communication lines. 

The scope of the project also covers a data processing centre (active and stand-by) and a control and monitoring centre.

The tolling system will utilise the Kaztoll software with an open input code containing no proprietary components, specifically designed for the project. The exclusive property right for the customized tolling software will be transferred to the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The submission deadline is 30 May 2018. For information on how to respond, see the Business Opportunity.

This tender is a big step for Kazakhstan, given that the first road PPP project in the country only reached commercial close in February. Turkish firms Makyol Construction and Alsim Alarko, and South Korean companies SK Engineering and Construction and Korea Expressway Corporation signed the contract for the financing, construction, operation and maintenance of a 66km toll road that will orbit the city of Almaty. Construction is expected to start this year.