DUSHANBE, November 29, 013, Asia-Plus — A working meeting to discuss issues related to further financing of completion of construction of the Istiqlol Tunnel has been held at the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan in Dushanbe this week, Habib Davlatov, an engineer-in-chief, Istiqlol Tunnel said.
According to him, the meeting participants included representatives of relevant organizations of Tajikistan and Iranian companies of Farab, Saber International, and Sadd va Tunnel-e Pars. Representatives of the Iranian Embassy in Dushanbe also attended the meeting.
“The Iranian side pledged to solve the issue of transferring money to Iranian companies for completion of construction of the tunnel until mid-December,” said Davlatov.. “We also discussed the issue of additional financing of the project.”
We will recall that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of Tajikistan and Iran on completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel that was endorsed by the Tajik parliament in April this year provides for allocation of additional 6 million U.S. dollars. This amount includes a US$3 million grant provided by the Government of Iran and US$3 million provided by the Government of Tajikistan.
Iran’s Saber International has been chosen to complete the construction of the tunnel.
The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel, has been built with assistance of Iranian specialists. Iran’s Saber International has constructed the Istiqlol Tunnel. The total project cost was estimated at 40 million US dollars, and Iran has provided US$10 million in a form of grant and extended a preferential loan worth US$21 million to Tajikistan.
The tunnel makes the highway from Dushanbe to Khujand open for traffic the whole year round and drops the transit time by four to five hours. An official opening ceremony of the Istiqlol Tunnel was held in July 2007; however, some works have remained unfinished.
The Istiqlol Tunnel is a five kilometer long tunnel located 80 kilometers northwest of Dushanbe. It connects the Tajik capital to Tajikistan’s second largest city, Khujand. It is also a transit route between Dushanbe and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent. Previously, especially during the cold seasons, a lack of a direct link between northern and southern Tajikistan led to disruptions of commerce.
