DUSHANBE, May 29, 2010, Asia-Plus — Specialists from China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) are currently considering the issue of speeding up the construction of the Shahriston Tunnel in Sughd province, Asia-Plus has learned from Qodir Saidov, the director of the unit for implementation of the Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project.
According to him, Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov recently visited the site for construction of the tunnel and proposed to accelerate the construction work. “The CRBC administration has promised to set up a working group for studying this issue,” Saidov said.
He noted that work on construction of the tunnel was carried out in accordance with schedule they have constructed 1,379 meters of the main tunnel and 4,144 meters of the ventilation tunnel to this day. Saidov added that the tunnel was supposed to be introduced into operation in September 2011.
We will recall that China has invested in rebuilding, widening and improvement of the road between Dushanbe and Khujand. The Dushanbe-Khujand-Chanak highway rehabilitation project was launched in summer 2006. Chinese company, China Road and Bridge Corporation, won the tender and Beijing in 2006 offered Tajikistan grants and loans to fund the project.
A total project cost is estimated at $295.9 million, including $281.1 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.
The first phase activities include rehabilitation of the 345-kilometer highway from Dushanbe, 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 and the third phase includes construction of 23 anti-avalanche galleries with a total length of 3,645 meters.
