KHUJAND, June 11, Asia-Plus — Construction of tunnel under the Shahriston Pass in northern Tajikistan is under way; worker have dug totaling 3,500 meters from both portals by June 1, Narzullo Alimatov, an official with the unit for implementation of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak (Uzbek border town) highway rehabilitation project, told Asia-Plus today.
According to him, 1,689 meters of the automotive tunnel and 1,803 meters of ventilation tunnel have been dug so far. “In May alone, they dug 164 meters of the automotive tunnel and 103 meters of the ventilation tunnel,” Alimatov said, noting that 333 Chinese and 39 Tajik workers currently work on construction of the Shahriston tunnel.
We will recall that Chinese company China Road has won the tender for implementation of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project and Beijing in 2006 offered Tajikistan grants and loans to fund the project. Rehabilitation of the road and construction of a tunnel under the Shahriston pass started in July 2006.
The tunnel is scheduled to be finished by August 2009, while the rehabilitation of the highway from Dushanbe to Chanak will have been completed by August 2008.
A total project cost is estimated at some $295.9 million, including $281.2 million provided by the Chinese government in a form of a long-term loan. The loan carries a 20-year period and an interest rate of 2 percent per annum. The remaining some $14.8 million are provided by the government of Tajikistan.
