During the inspection of the progress of rehabilitation of the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway, Deputy Prime Minister, Azim Ibrohim, has criticized the pace of implementation of project aimed at rehabilitating this highway, an official source within the Tajik government told Asia-Plus in an interview.
According to him, vice-premier’s criticism has come during an address to a meeting to discuss the progress of implementation of the project.
Ibrohim, in particular, noted that in accordance with the approved plan, 50 percent of works should have been completed by the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, they have reached only 35 percent of the plan by the beginning of January, according to the source.
Azim Ibrohim has reportedly ordered to speed up the progress of rehabilitation of the highway. He stressed that it was impossible to implement the project in time at such a low pace.
According to the Ministry of Transport (MoT), the first and the second stages of the project are currently being implemented.
The first phase includes rehabilitation of a 33-kilometer section of the highway and construction of bridge across the Kofarnihon River. 96.3 million USD has been allocated for rehabilitation of this section of the road.
The budget for implementation of the second phase, which includes rehabilitation of a 39.6-kilometer section of the highway and construction of bridge across the Vakhsh River, amounts to 107.5 million USD.
The rehabilitation of the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway is expected to be completed by 2023.
The improvement of road infrastructure is crucial for Tajikistan to overcome communication deadlock and turn itself into a transit hub.
