DUSHANBE, December 11, Asia-Plus — By government’s resolution a highway from Dushanbe to Khujand will be open for traffic four days a week – from Thursday to Sunday, Qodir Saidov, executive director of the unit for implementation of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, this schedule will be effective until blast work on widening a section of the highway from the Anzob ore refinery to the Ayni settlement is completed. “The schedule will be introduced with effect from December 13,” Saidov said.
In the meantime, work on rehabilitation of the highway from Dushanbe to Uzbek border town of Chanak is under way.
“Double layer of asphalt has to date been laid on 82 kilometers of the highway, which is totaling 354 kilometers in length,” the project implementation unit executive director said, adding that they have spent $112 million for implementation of the project so far.
We will recall that rehabilitation of the road and construction of the tunnel started last summer. Chinese company China Road won the tender and Beijing last year offered Tajikistan grants and loans to fund the project.
A total project cost is estimated at some $296 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 million are provided by the government of Tajikistan.
The project includes construction of tunnel under the Shahriston pass in northern Tajikistan. A total length the Shahriston tunnel is 5,042 meters. Work on construction of the tunnel is under way.
