Karakalpakstan completes the widening of the A380 highway on the China–Europe corridor

On the A380 section between Nukus and Urgench, the widening from two to four lanes is about 90% complete, with work planned to be finished by the end of 2026. The $48.7 million project is part of a $383.4 million road programme supported by the Asian Development Bank. The already reconstructed Kungrad–Kazakh border section has cut carriers' travel time from 10–12 to 3–4 hours.

Otabek YusupovFirst published on tafs uz 4 November 2026 at 17:462 min read

The key facts

The 25-kilometre A380 section Nukus–Urgench is being widened from two to four lanes, about 90% complete, with completion by the end of 2026
The Kungrad–Kazakh border section (240 km) was completed in 2024: carriers report the Kungrad–Beyneu journey time falling from 10–12 to 3–4 hours
The broad programme costs $383.4 million: $274.2 million in ADB loans and $109.2 million from the government of Uzbekistan; traffic is expected to grow from 6–7 to 14–15 thousand vehicles per day

Reconstruction is nearing completion

In Karakalpakstan, a section of the A380 highway between Nukus and Urgench is being widened: 25 kilometres of road are being converted from two to four lanes. According to Euronews, construction is about 90% complete and is planned to be finished by the end of 2026. Bahodir Boltaboev, Deputy Director of the Project Implementation Group at the Asian Development Bank (ADB), specified that about three kilometres of concrete pavement remain to be laid and work on one overpass is still to be completed. The project also includes special turnaround overpasses that allow drivers to change direction without crossing into oncoming lanes.

The effect of the already reconstructed section

The project is part of a broader programme: the neighbouring 240-kilometre stretch of the same highway from Kungrad towards the Kazakh border was completed back in 2024, and carriers are already feeling its effect. Damir Mamutov, Director General of the transport company Promizvest Servis, said that trucks previously spent at least 10–12 hours on the 240–250 kilometres between Kungrad and Beyneu because of the poor condition of the road, but now they cover the route in three to four hours. According to him, before the reconstruction, tyres and suspension needed repairs after just one or two trips, while afterwards such problems became less frequent, which reduced maintenance costs. Boltaboev added that whereas 6–7 thousand vehicles used the road daily before, after the reconstruction is completed this figure is expected to reach 14–15 thousand.

Financing and remaining constraints

The broader road improvement programme has a budget of $383.4 million, of which $274.2 million are ADB loans and $109.2 million is provided by the government of Uzbekistan. The A380 highway is part of Corridor 2 of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) programme, which unites 11 countries. At the same time, as ADB regional cooperation specialist Begzod Djalilov noted, customs procedures and delays at borders still slow down freight flows, so the bank is working on digitalising procedures and introducing electronic queues for trucks. In August 2026, the ADB also approved a separate BUILD financing mechanism worth $400 million for modernising road and railway border crossings in the CAREC region.