Tajikistan plans to complete work on the second phase of the “Istiqlol” tunnel construction by the end of September this year, the Ministry of Transport of the country informed “Asia-Plus”.
The ministry noted that at the moment, work has been completed on the installation of ventilation, lighting, fire extinguishing systems, cables and security systems.
"We will start installing medium and low voltage AC panels soon. We ordered them in Kazakhstan. The details are now at the border of Tajikistan, and we expect to receive them by the end of the week," – the ministry said.
After completion of these works, a commission will be established to check the tunnel's readiness for operation.
Recall that the Iranian company “Farob” is engaged in the construction of the tunnel. The total cost of the second phase of the project is $11 million. Of this amount, 50% was allocated from the budget of Tajikistan, and the remaining part was provided by the Iranian side in the form of equipment free of charge.
The construction of the “Istiqlol” tunnel began in 2003 as part of an agreement between Tajikistan and Iran. The total cost of construction amounted to $39 million, of which $7.8 million was allocated by the Tajik government, and the remaining funds were provided by the Iranian side in the form of a grant ($10 million) and a loan ($21.2 million).
The tunnel was officially commissioned in 2006 with the participation of Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who ruled the country at that time. However, due to design errors, water seeped into the tunnel.
In April 2014, work on the completion of the tunnel was resumed, but soon suspended due to lack of funding. The governments of Iran and Tajikistan have agreed on additional financing in the amount of $6 million to complete the construction, $3 million from each side.
But then, in 2016, relations between the countries deteriorated, and only with their improvement by 2019, work has started again.
The “Istiqlol” tunnel runs under the high-altitude Anzob pass, located 90 km north of Dushanbe on the Dushanbe-Khujand highway. Its length is 5.2 km.
