DUSHANBE, November 28, 2008, Asia-Plus — More than 2,115 meters of concrete work has been carried out to this date on the tunnel, which is dug under the Shar-Shar Pass linking Dushanbe and Khatlon’s Kulob region, according to the Ministry of transport and Communications.
The source at a MoTC said that builders had already dug 1,105 meters from the northern portal and 1,110 meters from the southern portal. “To complete construction of the Shar-Shar tunnel it remains to dig another 105 meters,” the source said, noting that construction work has run according to the schedule.
Some 300 specialists, with 185 of them being Tajik nationals, have been involved in the Shar-Shar tunnel project, which is implemented by China Railway No.5 Engineering Group Co., Ltd.
Tajikistan and China reached an agreement on construction of the Shar-Shar Tunnel in the summer of 2005 and construction of the tunnel officially commenced in 2006. The Chinese side has allocated 37 million US dollars for construction of the 2,235-meter tunnel.
Referring to the drop in the transit time by more than hour, the source said that when finished, the project would significantly improve all-year-round road access between different parts of the country.
