DUSHANBE, October 5, 2013, Asia-Plus — Specialists from the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan and their Iranian colleagues are expected to recount the cost of completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel, according to Ministry of Transport (MoT).
An official source at a MoT says the recalculation will be done following increase in prices of building materials and fuels. “Installation of lighting system in the tunnel also requires additional expenses,” the source added.
We will recall that a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the government of Tajikistan and Iran on completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel that was endorsed by the Tajik parliament in April this year provides for allocation of additional 6 million U.S. dollars. This amount includes US$3 million grant provided by the Government of Iran and US$3 million provided by the Government of Tajikistan.
“To-date, the Iranian side has provided 1.1 million U.S. dollars and the Tajik side has also provided only a part of its contribution,” the MoT source said.
Iran’s Saber International has been chosen to complete the construction of the tunnel.
Some sources say that at the best, the work on completion of the Istiqlol Tunnel will start next year if the sides come to an agreement on the financing issues.
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 for 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, some works have remained unfinished.
The Istiqlol Tunnel is a five kilometer long tunnel located 80 kilometers northwest of Dushanbe. It connects the Tajik capital to Tajikistan’s 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.
