This publication shares learning from a collaborative road design assessment. Asian Development
Bank (ADB) staff from multiple departments worked with construction materials platform ORIS and
government partners to optimize the design of a section of highway in Uzbekistan.
The project was supported by ADB’s Digital Innovation Sandbox and was piloted by the Transport and
Communications Division of the Central and West Asia Department.
The aim of this publication is to share knowledge on the opportunity of conducting early due diligence
in infrastructure projects to support the Sustainable Development Goals. It provides a case study on the
potential offered by innovative digital tools to facilitate advanced impact assessment. It aims to share
learning that can support similar projects in different contexts and geographies.
The case study looks at the design of a project in Uzbekistan to upgrade part of the A380 highway
(section 673–698 km). In assessing the pavement design, a team from the Asian Development Bank
partnered with ORIS to pilot a multiple-scenario digital analysis. The project demonstrates how road
design can be significantly improved by making informed and data-driven decisions at an early stage,
based on local conditions. The following box summarizes the key characteristics of the A380 highway
upgrade design.
Through the ORIS Materials Intelligence platform, the project was digitized to create a digital twin. After
compiling and processing local construction materials into the ORIS platform, a comparative analysis
on multiple scenarios was conducted, using digital simulations and artificial intelligence.
