DUSHANBE, October 16, 2009, Asia-Plus — The Istiqlol Tunnel that links the northern Sughd province to the central part of Tajikistan will probably be reopened for traffic after a visit of Iran’s first deputy energy minister to Tajikistan, Minister of Transport and Communications Abdurahim Ashour remarked at a news conference in Dushanbe on October 15.
According to him, Iranian official is expected to arrive in Tajikistan within the next few days. “Iranian deputy minister must receive evidence that traffic via the tunnel is really limited and nobody prevents workers from completing the construction of the facility and after that, he should contribute to acceleration of the work,” Ashour said.
We will recall that the tunnel has been temporarily closed for traffic since August 1. This measure has been taken in connection with completion of construction work at the tunnel.
The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel, has been built with assistance of Iranian specialists. 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$10 million in a form of grant and extended a preferential 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. An official opening ceremony of the Istiqlol Tunnel was held in July 2007; however, there are still some uncompleted works.
The Istiqlol Tunnel is a five kilometer long tunnel located 80 kilometers northwest of Dushanbe. It connects the Tajik capital to its second largest city, Khujand. It is also a transit route between Dushanbe and Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent. Previously, especially during the cold seasons, a lack of a direct link between northern and southern Tajikistan led to disruptions of commerce.
