DUSHANBE, November 4, 2008, Asia-Plus — The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is providing technical assistance to prepare a project design and feasibility study for the rehabilitation of Dushanbe-Tursunzoda-Uzbekistan border road to boost regional cooperation and economic development, press release issued by the ADB Dushanbe Office said.
The two-lane, 66-kilometer road is the main highway linking Dushanbe and the district centers in Hissor Valley to Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It is part of the Transport Corridor III connecting Russia, Middle East and South Asia, one of the six priority transport corridors identified under the ADB-supported Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Program.
“The project is aimed at developing an integrated and efficient road transport link between Dushanbe and Uzbekistan border. If trade relations between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan improve, the Project will foster cross-border trade, investments, labor mobility, and, hence, better income opportunities for the poor,” said Makoto Ojiro, ADB’s Country Director for Tajikistan.
ADB is providing a $650,000 technical assistance grant to the project, while the government is contributing an equivalent of $150,000. The technical assistance was approved in May 2008.
International consultants from New Zealand’s Fraser Thomas Partners Ltd have recently begun their work to prepare an investment program scheduled for next year. The Ministry of Transport and Communications is the executing agency for the technical assistance.
The rehabilitation of the road network is a priority under the CAREC Program, which seeks to promote economic growth and raise living standards in Central Asia by encouraging economic cooperation.
Initiated in 1997, the CAREC Program has focused on financing infrastructure projects and improving the region”s policy environment in the priority areas of transport, energy, trade policy, and trade facilitation. To enhance and coordinate research, training, and dialogue on regional cooperation, the program has established the CAREC Institute. CAREC participants are Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.
ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members – 48 from the region. In 2007, it approved $10.1 billion of loans, $673 million of grant projects, and technical assistance amounting to $243 million.
