For almost 20 years, motorists in Tajikistan have been forced to travel from Dushanbe to the north of the republic and back through the unequipped “Istiqlol” tunnel, which still lacks ventilation and adequate lighting.
When will the tunnel be brought into line with the standards that are applied in international practice to such road facilities?
The completion of the “Istiqlol” tunnel depends on Iran – we are talking about the missing $2.16 million that this country has committed to provide as part of the project, the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan said.
"If the funds are not allocated, it will be necessary to look for alternative sources of financing to complete the remaining work," – the Ministry of Transport said.
Under the remaining works, the ministry assumes the installation of a fire extinguishing system, as well as one unit each of a diesel generator, transformer and hydraulic forklift.
The Ministry of Transport explained that in accordance with the agreement concluded in 2020 with Iran, the government of Tajikistan has committed to allocate budget funds for the completion of the tunnel. However, as the ministry noted, at that time Tajikistan faced financial difficulties due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
"Because of this, the project was postponed by one year – from 2020 to 2021, and the deadline for completion of the project was shifted to 2023," – the ministry said.
Later, the project's implementation period was extended again due to the fact that Iran was unable to fully fulfill its financial commitment, explaining the lack of opportunities. We are talking about the unpaid $2.16 million that Iran was supposed to provide as part of the agreement.
According to the Ministry of Transport, as part of the second phase of the “Istiqlol” tunnel completion project, it was planned to allocate $11 million – $5.5 million on each side. So far, $8.8 million has been secured. In particular, the Government of Tajikistan contributed $5.46 million (99.3% of its share), while Iran contributed $3.34 million (60.7% of its share).
The Ministry noted that as part of the second phase of the project, lighting, ventilation, camera monitoring systems, as well as a partial fire extinguishing system, have been completed and put into operation. Other additional work was also carried out, including the construction of auxiliary buildings.
The Ministry of Transport assures that the safe movement of vehicles through the “Istiklol” tunnel is currently ensured.
It's been 19 years since it was built…
The construction of the “Istiqlol” tunnel began in 2003 as part of an agreement between Tajikistan and Iran. The total cost of construction was $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 then Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. 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, with $3 million from each side.
But then, in 2016, relations between the two countries deteriorated, and it was only with their improvement that work began again by 2019.
The “Istiqlol” tunnel runs under the Anzob mountain pass, located 90 km north of Dushanbe on the Dushanbe–Khujand highway. Its length is 5.2 km. The Iranian companies “Sobir” and “Farob” are engaged in the completion of the facility.
