DUSHANBE, April 29, Asia-Plus — This year, the Qarasou Crossing on Tajik-Chinese border in GBAO’s Murgab district will work every day, except weekends and holidays, from May through November, Asia-Plus has learned at Tajikistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The source at a CCI said that a decision on that subject had been made after long negotiations between Tajikistan and China at the beginning of this year.
We will recall that China’s National Council issued a relevant resolution on this subject in last month.
The Tajik-China trade route, opened in 2004, runs between from Khorog, the capital of Gorno Badakhshan in southeastern Tajikistan, over a high-altitude plateau and then down into China, where it ends in the city of Kashgar, 700 kilometers away. But because conditions are so tough at the Qarasou border crossing – located on a mountain pass 4,400 meters high – the gateway only stays open 15 days out of every month, while from November through April it is closed altogether.
“In future, the sides intend to consider the possibility of the gateway’s working the whole year round,” the CCI source said, adding that that issue will be discussed after construction of necessary infrastructure ensuring regular work of the border crossing during winter months as well.
