Traffic via the Istiqlol Tunnel is being restricted in connection with renovation work that is starting today, according to the traffic police station in Ayni district.
“Beginning from today, from 6:00 to 12:20, the traffic via tunnel will be open only for vehicles moving from Dushanbe to Khujand, and from 12:30 to 19:00, the traffic via the tunnel will be open only for vehicles moving from Khujand to Dushanbe,” Bohirjon Dodojonov, the chief of the Ayni traffic police station, told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“From 19:00 to 6:00, the tunnel will be open for traffic in both directions” Dodojonov added.
According to him, the renovation work, which reportedly includes installation of ventilation and lighting systems as well as security surveillance and fire extinguishing systems, is expected to be completed in three months.
Recall, Tajikistan and Iran signed an agreement on completion of the second phase of construction of the Istiqlol Tunnel on January 20, 2021. The document was inked in Dushanbe by Azim Ibrohim, Minister of Transport, and Ali Vakili, CEO at Farab Group of Companies.
Iranian and Tajik energy ministers reached an agreement in Tehran in early December 2019 that Iran will take the necessary steps for the completion of the lighting of the tunnel.
The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel, was built with assistance of Iranian specialists. Iran’s Saber International constructed the Istiqlol Tunnel.
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. 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 parts of the construction have been left half-finished.
According to Iranian media reports, the tunnel was constructed in three years, “costing US$60 million.”
