Work to complete Istiqlol Tunnel to start in September

DUSHANBE, August 24, 2011, Asia-Plus  -- Traffic through the Istiqlol Tunnel is expected to be suspended in September and work to complete the tunnel will start, according to the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

The source at a MoT says they are waiting for additional funds to start the work.  “An agreement on allocation of additional 6 million U.S. for installation of ventilation and lighting facilities has already been signed between the governments of Tajikistan and Iran but Iran’s Sangab Company, which has been implementing the project, has not yet received the money,” he noted.

The tunnel is expected to be fully finished in four or five months.

The Istiqlol Tunnel, better known among the population as the Anzob Tunnel, has been built with assistance of Iranian specialists.  The total project cost was estimated at 40 million US dollars, and Iran has provided US$10 million in a form of grant and extended a preferential loan worth US$21 million to Tajikistan.  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 2006; however, there are still some uncompleted works.

The Istiqlol Tunnel is a five kilometer long road 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.