Greg Smith, iRAP’s Acting CEO and Global Programme Director, and Arystan Massanov, Director of the KSRIRS celebrate the launch of KazRAP

The International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP) and Kazakh Scientific Research Institute for Road Safety (KSRIRS) have proudly announced the launch of the Kazakhstan Road Assessment Program (KazRAP), aimed at reducing road crash deaths and injuries on the country’s roads.

The program was formally enacted in an agreement signed by Mr Arystan Massanov, Director of the KSRIRS Institute and Mr Greg Smith, Acting CEO and Global Program Director of iRAP at the Caucasus and Central Asia Construction Forum in Astana.

Kazakhstan joins Australia, Brazil, China, India, New Zealand, Mexico, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Tanzania, Thailand, United Kingdom and United States with locally-led, globally supported Road Assessment Programs (RAP).

Speaking at the launch event, iRAP Acting CEO and Global Program Director, Greg Smith said, “We are very proud of our partnership with the KazRAP team which has already seen road safety assessments undertaken on over 20,000km of roads across the country, including in World Bank and European Bank of Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) financed projects. Three hundred people have taken part in training and knowledge building activities on safer roads, and training resources have been translated to Russian which will benefit other countries in Central Asia. Local leadership is key to success in road safety and KazRAP will help to drive lifesaving outcomes by systematically assessing risk on existing roads and road designs, and developing Safer Road Investment Plans to prioritise improvement measures.”

Arystan Massanov, Director of the KSRIRS said, “The launch of the national road assessment program KazRAP marks a significant milestone in the development of Kazakhstan’s road traffic safety system. Through our partnership with iRAP and the adoption of advanced international standards of safety assessment, we now have a powerful tool for the systematic analysis and improvement of road infrastructure safety. KazRAP will enable us to effectively reduce crash rates by adapting the world’s best practices to the realities of Kazakhstan. This is more than just a project — it is a strategic initiative aimed at protecting human life, enhancing the safety of the road environment, and building a sustainable transport system. We are confident that the implementation of KazRAP will make a substantial contribution to reducing road traffic incidents and will lay a strong foundation for long-term improvements in road safety. KazRAP is not just a program — it is an investment in Kazakhstan’s future, where safe roads become the norm, not the exception.”

According to iRAP Safety Insights Explorer, by achieving United Nations Global Road Safety Performance Target 4, which would see most travel occurring on 3-star or better roads, Kazakhstan could prevent more than 780 deaths annually, and over 890,000 fatalities and injuries over 20 years, with an economic benefit of nearly US $10 for each $1 invested.

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Download full press release here 

usRAP Lead Bruce Hamilton and ThaiRAP Lead Kasem Choocharukul joined discussions

For iRAP:
Greg Smith, Acting CEO and Global Programme Director
Email: greg.smith@irap.org; Mob: tel:+84 389 280 277

For KSRIRS:
Aizhan Issagulova, Expert on Road Safety
Email: issagulovaaizhan@gmail.com; Tel: + 7 778 699 90 90

About the International Road Assessment Programme (iRAP)

iRAP is a registered charity that works with partners including the United Nations, the World Health Organization, governments, development banks, mobility clubs, industry, road safety NGOs and research organizations to provide evidence-based tools, training and support to help make roads safe. The iRAP road safety star rating methodology is free to use and provides an objective measure of the level of “built-in” road safety for vehicle occupants, motorcyclists, cyclists, and pedestrians. A 1-star road is the least safe and a 5-star road is the safest. iRAP works with its partners to: inspect high-risk roads and develop Star Ratings, Risk Maps and Safer Roads Investment Plans in more than 130 countries; provide training, tools and support to develop and maintain national, regional and local capacity; and track road safety outcomes so that funding agencies can assess the economic and life-saving benefits of their investments. iRAP and its partners have so far star-rated 1.9 million kilometres of roads and layouts, and 1,940 schools, influencing the safety of $111 billion of infrastructure investment. 1.9 million kilometres have been risk mapped and nearly 76,000 people have been trained worldwide. According to research led by Johns Hopkins University, published in the respected journal PLOS One, road projects funded by governments, development banks and private sector road operators around the world using iRAP methodology and tools have prevented 860,000 deaths and serious injuries in 74 countries between 2016 and the end of 2025. iRAP’s Safety Insights Explorer sheds light on the human and economic impact of road crashes, how safe our roads are, and the Business Case for the achievement of UN Target 4 for 75% of travel to be on 3-star or better roads by 2030 in each country worldwide.
irap.org

About the Kazakh Scientific Research Institute for Road Safety (KSRIRS)

KazNII BDD LLP was founded in 2017 with the goal of reducing road crashes. The main activity of the company is to conduct research on the problems of safety on roads interurban and urban roads, as well as conduct research on the problems of traffic flow in order to reduce the number of traffic accidents, mortality rates, and the severity of road accidents. The Institute also deals with issues of increasing the efficiency of traffic flow, reducing economic losses and environmental damage caused by traffic.
kazrap.kz/