DUSHANBE, March 24, Asia-Plus – Excavation works on the Anzob Tunnel project have been completed.
On March 23, after twenty months of excavation works the Anzob tunnel linking the northern province of Sughd with the central part of Tajikistan was dug through a mountain.
According to information from presidential press service, Tajik Deputy Prime Minister, Asadullo Ghulomov, and top managers of the Iranian construction company «Sobir International», which worked on the Anzob Tunnel project, attended a ceremony that was held on this occasion.
The source says a group of representatives from Tajikistan and Iran drove by a car through the tunnel from its southern to the northern portal, where they were met by residents of the Ayni district.
We will recall that the construction of the “Anzob” tunnel began in 1989 but because of destabilization of the situation in the republic the construction was suspended and resumed only in 2003.
In May 2003, Tajikistan and Iran signed in Tehran a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint construction of the Anzob tunnel in Tajikistan. The Iranian company “Sobir International” won a tender for the construction of the tunnel, and the Iranian government provided US$31 million for implementation of this project. Of this amount, 10 million U.S. dollars were provided in a form of grant.
Once the Anzob tunnel becomes operational, it will not only facilitate transportation and direct north-south transit within Tajikistan in the winter season but also drop the transit time by four to five hours.
A regular traffic via the Anzob tunnel is expected to open in the summer this year.
