Tajikistan and South Korea are launching three major infrastructure development projects, including the preliminary phase for building a metro system in the capital, Dushanbe, according to Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport (MoT).
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) was signed last week following negotiations between the ministry and several South Korean companies. Talks reportedly involved representatives from the Export-Import Bank of Korea (Eximbank), PwC Korea, and two engineering consortiums — the University of Seoul Industry-Academic Cooperation Foundation and Sejong Engineering.
The centerpiece of the agreement is the initiation of a feasibility study for Dushanbe’s second metro line, planned to run from the State Circus to the city’s Eastern Gate. The project also includes technical support for the national task force overseeing the metro's development.
Another planned project involves the feasibility study and proposed design for a logistics hub in the Kulob Free Economic Zone (FEZ Kulob).
These initiatives fall under Eximbank Korea’s Economic Cooperation Program and are scheduled for implementation between November 2025 and July 2026.
Previously, Tajik officials spoke of plans to build an above-ground metro stretching over 10 kilometers from the South Gate to the State Circus. However, following consultations with South Korean experts in October last year, a MoT confirmed the system would be underground.
Efforts to explore the project date back to March 14, 2022, when the MoT and the Korean National Railway signed a MoU on metro construction. Since then, both sides have conducted legal and technical assessments.
In August 2023, Tajikistan's Transport Ministry and Eximbank signed another memorandum, with the bank committing $200,000 for preliminary research and the detailed project design.
To facilitate coordination, a joint working group has been established comprising officials from the Ministry of Transport, Dushanbe City Hall, and the Korean National Railway Corporation.
