Tajikistan has ratified a loan agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OPEC Fund) on the “Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program. Corridors 2, 3, and 5 (Obigarm-Nourobod road).
The Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower house of parliament) voted for ratification of the agreement on June 17.
This loan agreement between the Government of Tajikistan and the OPEC Fund was signed in April this year.
Finance Minister Faiziddin Qahhorzoda says the OEC Fund will provide 40 million U.S. dollars for implementation of this project.
According to him, implementation of this project will begin this year and will be completed in 2024.
The Obigarm–Nourobod road is part of Corridors 2, 3, and 5 of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation Program that links landlocked and mountainous Tajikistan to Eurasian and global markets. The road connects the capital Dushanbe to the northeast region of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, and carries around 2,000 vehicles a day.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) noted in early December last year that the construction of the new two-lane highway between Obigarm and Nourobod will help to improve the country’s connectivity and trade competitiveness.
The construction of the 75-km long highway has reportedly been divided into three sections. ADB and the OPEC Fund for International Development will co-finance a 30-km long section from Obigarm to Tagikamar, including two tunnels of a total length of 3.3 km, which is estimated at approximately $178 million.
The government has also applied for loan financing from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the construction of the remaining sections of the 75-km highway.
The new highway will replace the existing road which will cease operation to make way for a hydroelectric dam currently under construction. The highway will be completed before the existing road is decommissioned as the only alternative route would entail a deviation of about 320 km.
The highway will be climate-resilient and built to international road safety standards.
