Uzbekistan intends to mitigate the ban on haulage through the Kamchik Pass by outdated trucks.
On July 1, 2016, Uzbekistan banned haulage via Kamchik by vehicles above 15 years of operation. As a result, according to expert estimates, more than 10,500 trucks were withdrawn from freight traffic on long-distance routes, and more than 1,300 – on international routes.
This entailed an increase in the cost of automobile services by an average of 20%, and a significant increase in the cost of food products transported from the Ferghana Valley and back. The situation is impaired by the fact that most of the carriers were unable to re-fleet due to heavy financial state.
To change the situation, the government intends to allow the carriage of goods through the Kamchik Pass by trucks and cars-tractors with a service life under 25 years. The corresponding draft resolution is now on public consideration.
The decision was also conditioned by the results of the study, which showed that the level of road safety on the pass, as a rule, is not associated with the term of operation of vehicles, but largely to non-compliance with established weight and dimensional parameters and technical condition of vehicles.
Therefore, starting from July 1, 2017, it is proposed to ban the carriage of goods by the vehicles exceeding the load of 11.5 tons on the single-leading axle, the total 20 tons load on the tandem axle in trailers, semi-trailers, trucks, tractors, motor vehicles, and 24 tons on triple axis, respectively.
The new cargo parameters will not apply to the vehicles that carry indivisible bulky and heavy loads with special permission of authorized bodies, as well as to those engaged in construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of road infrastructure on the pass.
The new requirements, according to experts, would increase the competitiveness of domestic road carriers on the international road transport services market, ensure smooth transportation of export and import cargo by road, including fruit and vegetables grown in the Ferghana Valley, stabilize prices for car services and the cost of food products.
