UZGEN, Kyrgyzstan (TCA) — The Uzgen city government is improving driver safety and boosting economic opportunity for city residents by installing new street and traffic lights on the city's main thoroughfares.

With support from the U.S. Agency for International Development, Office of Transition Initiatives (USAID/OTI), Uzgen as local government has completed placement of street lights along 19 kilometres of roads and traffic lights at 48 locations throughout the town.

City government officials will join USAID representatives to celebrate the new municipal infrastructure at 15:00 at the Kurmanjan-Datka Secondary School on Manas street in Uzgen City on April 30, 2013.

The Uzgen Vice-Mayor Mahammadjan Nasirov said “We have already received more than 14 applications from small and medium-sized businesses for land plots along the central streets. Working street lights will encourage residents to venture into new business opportunities USAID/OTI supported the purchase of 50 poles and 396 lamps for the rehabilitation of lights along municipal streets, and provided 12 pedestrian crosswalk lights for the six main intersections in central Uzgen. The Uzgen municipal government contributed labor for the installation as part of a joint effort to increase a sense of safety for the city’s 49,362 residents.

The project has also improved citizen relationships with local law enforcement agencies. According to Gafur Uzakov, Head of the State Auto Inspection Department (GAI) in Uzgen District,”We have seen a visible decrease in traffic jams and car accidents since the installation of the
new traffic lights.”

This program is one of many assistance programs supported by the American people through USAID. For more information about USAID programs, visit www.usaid.gov