DUSHANBE, March 31, Asia-Plus — Unanticipated needs in an amount of $26 million built into the budget for the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak road rehabilitation project have gone to funding construction of four additional facilities, according to the project implementation unit (PIU).
The source at a PIU said that $2 million of the unanticipated needs had been spent for building a 5-kilometer bypass road near the Shahriston settlement, which had already been put into operation. Another $7 million have gone to funding construction of an 867-meter anti-avalanche gallery in the Maykhoura area, some 61-62 kilometers north of Dushanbe. The construction work is under way, according to the source.
Besides, $12 million have gone to financing the construction of a 281-meter bridge across the Syrdarya River at the entrance to Khujand. Builders have to date installed 16 of 30 piers.
A 32-kilometer 110-kV power transmission line will also be constructed from the Shahriston settlement to the northern portal of the Shahriston tunnel under construction. The estimated budget for construction of this power grid is $5 million.
We will recall that Chinese company China Road has won the tender for implementation of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak (Uzbek border town) highway rehabilitation project and Beijing in 2006 offered Tajikistan grants and loans to fund the project. Rehabilitation of the road and construction of a tunnel under the Shahriston pass started in July 2006.
The tunnel is scheduled to be finished by August 2009, while the rehabilitation of the highway from Dushanbe to Chanak will have been completed by August 2008.
A total project cost is estimated at some $295.9 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 $14.8 million are provided by the government of Tajikistan.
