Tajikistan considers the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) as a potential investor for rehabilitation of the Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa highway.
The possibility of participation of the EBRD in implementation of the Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa road rehabilitation project was discussed here last week at a meeting of Tajik Finance Minister Abdusalom Qurboniyon with Ms. Ayten Rustamova, Head of the EBRD Office in Tajikistan, according to the Ministry of Finance (MoF) Secretariat.
As it had been reported earlier, the direct work on implementation of the Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa road rehabilitation project will start in June this year.
This 90-kilometer highway is one of the most heavily traveled roads in the country because it has not been rehabilitated for more than 30 years, with the exception of partial recovery work carried out in the early 2000s.
The first phase of the project provides for rehabilitation of more than 33 kilometers of road from Dushanbe to the Dari Kiik area, not far from the administrative center of Khuroson district in Khatlon province.
96 million U.S. dollars (USD) have reportedly been allocated for the first phase of the Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa road rehabilitation project.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has allocated 65.2 million U.S. dollars in preferential loan (49.4 million USD) and grant (some 15.8 million USD) for improvement of the road connectivity between Dushanbe and Qurghon Teppa, two major cities and economic hubs in the country. Besides, the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has allocated 12 million USD for implementation of the project and the remaining 17 million U.S. dollars have been provided by the Tajik government.
The estimated budget for improvement of the 90-kilometer road from Dushanbe to Qurghon Teppa is some 215 million U.S. dollars.
The project is expected to directly benefit residents in Dushanbe and the southern Khatlon province by improving access to jobs, markets, and public services. It is also expected to help develop the economic corridor between Dushanbe and Afghanistan.
The project is expected to enhance the road by expanding its width from two to four lanes, improving its surface condition, and providing well-designed safety facilities.
Negotiations with potential investors for the Dushanbe-Qurghon Teppa road rehabilitation project are under way.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has been present in Tajikistan since 1992. To date, the EBRD has invested €645 million (US$ 700 million) in various sectors of Tajikistan’s economy. In Tajikistan, the Bank focuses on stabilizing and rebuilding trust in the banking sector, developing private enterprises and agribusiness, improving the availability, reliability and quality of municipal services and improving the quality of energy supply, regulation and energy efficiency.
