DUSHANBE, September 8, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known as the Anzob Tunnel, linking central part of Tajikistan to the northern Sughd province, will be closed for traffic for two months starting from September 12, according to presidential press service.
President Emomali Rahmon visited the tunnel on September 7 and during the visit, it was decided to close the tunnel for traffic for two months in order not to hamper drift miners’ work.
The tunnel has been built with assistance of Iranian specialists and in accordance with an agreement between Rahmon and his Iranian counterpart Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, further $6 million will be provided by Iran for completion of work on ventilation and lighting of the tunnel.
We will recall that Iran’s Saber International has constructed the Istiqlol Tunnel. The total project cost was estimated at 40 million US dollars, and Iran has provided US$5 million in a form of grant and extended a loan worth US$21 million to Tajikistan. The tunnel makes the highway from Dushanbe to Khujand open fro traffic the whole year round and drops the transit time by four to five hours.
The Tajik head of state also got acquainted with the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project.
During a meeting with Chinese specialists, working on rehabilitation of the highway, it was noted that construction of 3,600 meters of anti-landslide works along the highway will have been completed by November.
The Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project includes construction a tunnel under the Shahriston pass in northern Tajikistan is under way. A total length the Shahriston tunnel is 5,042 meters. The rehabilitation of the road and construction of the tunnel started in the summer of 2006.
Chinese company 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.
