Parliament reviews road legislation

During Friday’s session of Parliament, MPs reviewed bills on roads and amendments to water transportation legislation.

Minister of Roads and Transportation D.Ganbat stated that the ministry is working to revise standards and technology used for the construction of roads, and is studying using concrete to renovate the Ulaanbaatar-DarkhanErdenet highway.

Minister D.Ganbat said that the ministry has started taking measures to improve traffic signs and road surface markings to meet international traffic standards. He stressed that investigations have revealed the mismanagement of funds, and that claims have been made that complaints about spending on roads have increased in recent years. As a result, the Minister said road construction companies should be monitored.

The Minister underlined that six provinces lined up for major road projects are still not connected to Ulaanbaatar by highways, and that over 500 kilometers of road will be built to connect them to the capital. The remaining provinces are expected to be connected to a national highway network by 2021.

The authors of the bill believe that amendments to the Roads Act will be of great importance to improving the quality, standards, and technology utilized to construct roads; enhancing traffic safety; getting older vehicles out of circulation; reducing travel time; improving regional development; reducing spending on road maintenance; and increasing awareness of the socioeconomic and ecological impact of expanding the country’s road network.

MPs supported further discussion of the bill, which will be submitted to Parliament’s Economic Standing Committee for preparation for further parliamentary review.