DUSHANBE, November 1, 2014, Asia-Plus – The territory of Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region the GBAO, is expected to increase as the GBAO authorities plan to build “New Khorog,”
Rossiya dlya Vsekh
(Russia 4 All) reports.
It quoted GBAO governor Shodikhon Jamshed as saying that 200 hectares were allocated for construction of “New Khorog.”
According to him, certain amount of money has been allocated by the central government for working out the municipal redevelopment plan for Khorog “and some 20 million somoni (equivalent to some 4 million U.S. dollars) will be allocated for construction of a new city in 2015.”
“Khorog is projected to accommodate 15,000 people while according to unofficial data, nearly 35,000 people now live in the city,” said Shodikhon Jamshed. “If we do not take measures, serious social and demographic challenges may face us.”
The city of Khorog is the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Province (GBAO) in Tajikistan. Khorog is 2,200 meters above sea level in the Pamir Mountains at the confluence of the Ghund and Panj rivers. The city is bounded to the south (Nivodak) and to the north (Tem) by the deltas of the Shokhdara and Ghund, respectively. The two rivers merge in the eastern part of the city flow through the city, dividing it almost evenly until its delta in the Panj River. Khorog is known for its beautiful poplar trees that dominate the flora of the city.
The city has its own university (Khorog State University), founded in 1992), twelve schools, including the Aga Khan Lyceum (the Lyceum is part of the Aga Khan Education Services (AKES) and several hospitals. There is a museum and the second highest botanical garden in the world.
Khorog is also host to one of three campuses of the University of Central Asia (UCA). The University was founded in 2000 by the governments of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, and His Highness the Aga Khan. It is the world’s first internationally chartered institution of higher education. The UCA currently operates a School of Professional and Continuing Education (SPCE), with a School of Undergraduate Studies and a Graduate School of Development in the process of being established.
