DUSHANBE, August 26, 2009, Asia-Plus — Work on removing shortcomings on the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway from the Shahriston Tunnel to the town of Chanak in the Mastchoh district on the Uzbek border is nearing completion, Mirzoali Mansourov, the manager of the section C of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.
According to him, they are currently working on construction of retaining works in the landslide-prone areas in the Shahriston district. All works on the section C are planned to be completed next month.
As it had been reported earlier, the first phase of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project is expected to be finished in early September this year. The first phase of the project includes rehabilitation of the highway, construction of large, medium-sized and small bridges, with a total length of 1,777 meters, as well as construction of 5,974 meters of pipes, some 20,000 meters of relieving walls and 200 kilometers of drainage ditches. The second phase of the project includes construction of a 5,253-meter tunnel under the Shahriston pass. The third phase includes construction of 23 anti-avalanche galleries with a total length of 3,645 meters. The second and the third phases of the project are supposed to be completed in July 2010 and an official reintroduction of the highway into operation would be held in September 2011.
We will recall that Chinese company, China Road & Bridge Corporation, won the tender and Beijing offered Tajikistan grants and loans to fund the project. The rehabilitation of the road and construction of the tunnel started in the summer of 2006.
A total project cost is estimated at $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.
