The Government of China will issue a non-repayable grant of 218,000 U.S. dollars for conducting feasibility study for rehabilitation of some key sections of the highway connecting Dushanbe and Kulma Pass on the border between the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO) of Tajikistan and the Xinjiang Autonomous Region (XUAR) of China, which is part of the second stage of the Dushanbe-Kulma highway rehabilitation reconstruction project, according to the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan (MoT).
An official source at a MoT says the exchange letters on providing this financial support have been endorsed by the governments of both countries.
By government’s regulation issued on September 19 the approved exchange letters will be sent for ratification to the country’s lower house (Majlisi Namoyandagon) of parliament.
After ratification of the exchange letter, the two sides will conclude an appropriate agreement, the source added.
The letter of the Tajik side says Chinese specialists will conduct the feasibility study.
It is to be noted that expenses related to conducting the project feasibility study amount to 1.56 million yuan (equivalent to more than 218,227 U.S. dollars) and will be covered by the non-repayable grant provided for by a government-to-government agreement on technical and economic cooperation signed by Tajikistan and China in 2018.
According to the Ministry of Transport, it is about conducting the feasibility study for rehabilitation of the Qalai Khumb – Vanj – Rushan District Border road, which is 92.3 kilometers in length.
The project aimed at rehabilitating this section of the Dushanbe-Kulma highway reportedly provides for construction of two tunnels with a total length of 5.2 kilometer, several galleries with a total length of 490 meters, 15 meters with a total length of 634 meters and some other facilities.
Frist Deputy Minister of Transport, Suhrob Mirzozoda, had earlier told Asia-Plus that Beijing will award a grant of 230 million U.S. dollars for rehabilitation of this section of the highway.
