AKIPRESS.COM - Turkish and South Korean companies on Thursday signed a concession agreement to build the Big Almaty Ring Road (BAKAD) project in Kazakhstan, Turkish media report.

The Turkish firms, Makyol Construction and Alsim Alarko, and South Korean companies -- Korean SK and Korea Expressway Corporation -- inked the agreement to bring the BAKAD project into action, said Olzhas Raev, the investment advisor at Kazakhstan’s embassy in Seoul.

Raev said the construction will begin this year.

He said that the length of the road will be 66 kilometers (41 miles) and it will pass through Karasay, Ile and Talgar districts of southeastern Almaty state.

In addition, seven intersections and 13 overpasses are planned to be build on the road.

Raev added that BAKAD is one of the most awaited and difficult projects in he country and this project is expected to end traffic jams in Almaty state.

Kazakh Investment and Development Ministry previously said that the project, which will cost 150 billion Kazakhstani tenge ($467.9 million), would be launched by Turkish and Korean investors, Anadolu news agency reported.