Uzbekistan raises transport tariff on Tajikistan-bound rail freight by 32 percent

DUSHANBE, January 4, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Uzbekistan raised transport tariff on rail freight bound for Tajikistan by 32 percent as of January 1, 2012.

According to Rohi Ohani Tojikiston (Tajik Railways), the total increase in tariffs will amount approximately to 70 million U.S. dollars annually.

“We have asked our Uzbek colleagues to keep the transit fees for goods carried by train at the December 2010 level,” said representative of Tajik state railroad company.  “However, we have not yet received a positive reply from them.”

He added that Tajik railways does not yet plan to raise tariffs on rail freight traffic despite rise in the transit fees for goods carried by train across Uzbek territory.

“To prevent increase in prices in domestic market, we will cover these additional expenses on our own account,” the source said.

In the meantime, Tajikistan has increased tariffs for the transit of Uzbek freight by rail across Tajikistan’s Sughd province.

Radio Liberty’s Tajik Service on January 3 quoted Tajik State Railroad Company deputy head Usmon Qalandarov as saying that the transport tariff for one ton of wheat flour carried across Uzbek territory was raised from $74 in 2011 to $88.3 as of January 1.

Qalandarov noted that the railway linking Tajikistan's southern Khatlon province with Uzbekistan's southern Surkhandaryo province, which was cut in the fall, is still not functional, and more than 300 freight cars with goods bound for Tajikistan are stranded.

He said Tajikistan offered to pay to repair a bridge on the Ghalaba-Amuzang section of the railway in Uzbekistan that was damaged by an explosion in mid-November, but Uzbekistan rejected the offer.

Qalandarov said some 900 freight cars en route to Dushanbe have also been delayed.

The Tajik Railroad Company has repeatedly accused Uzbekistan of deliberately blocking and delaying cargo bound for Tajikistan over the past several years.

Tashkent claims it has blocked only construction materials for the disputed Roghun hydroelectricity project.