Manila - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said Thursday it was providing a 700-million-dollar multi-tranche financing facility to Kazakhstan to help create a "new Silk Road" that would boost its economy and link Europe and Asia.

The Manila-based bank said the Central Asian Regional Economic Cooperation Transport Corridor I project will run 2,715 kilometres from the city of Khorgos on Kazakhstan's border with China, through Almaty and Shymkent, to the country's western border with the Russian Federation.

"This new Silk Road will boost trade between Beijing and Brussels, and create extraordinary economic opportunities for the people of Kazakhstan and their neighbours," said Juan Miranda, director general of ADB's Central and West Asia Department.

The bank said that by 2020, the road was expected to increase Kazakhstan's gross domestic product (GDP) by 68 per cent above the 2010 baseline, and to increase the GDP of neighbouring Central Asian countries by 43 per cent.

It added that China, Russia and the European Union will also reap significant gains from the project, with China's GDP expected to grow 6 per cent over 2010 baseline levels by 2020 and GDP of Russia and the EU expected to grow an additional 4 per cent.

"This road, combined with wide reaching reforms the government has already initiated in the transport and communication sectors, will provide families in Kazakhstan with greater opportunities for advancement, while significantly contributing to the nation's sustainable economic development," Miranda said.

The ADB said it will partner with the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in financing the project, which will need an overall investment of approximately 6.7 billion dollars.

Other financiers include the government of Kazakhstan, the private sector, the World Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

Kazahkstan, the world's biggest land-locked country with a size of 2.7 million square kilometres is larger than Western Europe, but only roughly 15 million inhabitants. (dpa)