SUCCESS ANALYSIS OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIP INFRASTRUCTURE PROJECT IN KAZAKHSTAN: A CASE OF THE BIG ALMATY RING ROAD (BAKAD)

Public-Private Project (PPP) projects in highway infrastructure development are gaining popularity in emerging economies, optimizing public budgets through private investments, sharing risks between the public and private sectors, and benefiting from the multiplier effect. The goal of this study is to investigate the success of the first mega concession toll road project in Central Asia, the Big Almaty Ring Road (BARR/BAKAD). The project was analyzed from three perspectives, demonstrating the BAKAD project’s overall soundness. Both qualitative and quantitative analyses were conducted based on the publicly available data extracted from various studies and official reports. The methodology included valuation questions grouped into different key performance indicators’ groups and the scoring system. The results show that the weak point in the project is the payback period for the government due to low toll incomes, while the strong point is the traffic offloading and travel time reduction. The proposed evaluation system allows in future studies both scholars and practitioners to comprehensively assess the success of PPP projects in Central Asian countries.