DUSHANBE, October 26, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Ministry of transport and Communications intends to announce an international tender for rehabilitation of the Obigarm-Nourobod section of the Dushanbe-Kyrgyz Border Road in the near future, Nusratullo Ishonjonov, an engineer with the road rehabilitation unit within the Ministry of Transport and Communications, told reporters in Dushanbe.
According to him, it is the most dangerous section of the road. This section is part of the second phase of the Dushanbe–Kyrgyz Border Road Rehabilitation Project, which aims to increase regional trade and economic growth through improved and sustainable regional and national road networks.
The project, being implemented by the Ministry of Transport and Communications aims to improve 89 km of the central and border sections of the Dushanbe–Kyrgyz border road and 60 km of rural roads; improve sustainability of the road network through increased financing of road maintenance, procurement of road maintenance equipment, installation of vehicle weighing systems, and implementation of pilot cases of tendering road maintenance; strengthen the institutional capacity of and improve governance in the ministry; and improve road safety.
Rehabilitation of the Obigarm-Nourobod section that is part of the second phase, including rehabilitation of the Obigarm-Rasht section, is expected to be launched in January 2010, Ishonjonov said.
The first phase included rehabilitation of the Dushanbe-Obigarm section and the third phase includes rehabilitation of the Tojikobod-Kyrgyz Border section.
We will recall that the Government of Tajikistan and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed a grant agreement for an additional $20 million grant to improve sections of a major road that links the Tajik capital Dushanbe to neighbor Kyrgyz Republic on August 7, 2009. The agreement was signed by Safarali Najmiddinov, Minister of Finance, and Makoto Ojiro, ADB”s Country Director in Tajikistan.
The supplementary grant will help to upgrade over 120 kilometers of the Dushanbe-Kyrgyz Border Road. The Government of Tajikistan is providing an additional $5 million for the road works.
Over the past years, ADB has provided support of over $98 million in loans and grants to rehabilitate the Dushanbe-Kyrgyz border road.
The supplementary fund is being used to improve several areas of the highway, including an emergency bypass road, and a section near the border with Kyrgyzstan that is prone to landslides.
