DUSAHNBE, April 19, Asia-Plus - The Anzob tunnel will have been put into operation by the end of the year, only after formal acceptance, Transport Minister Abdurrahim Ashurov remarked at a meeting with journalists on April 18.  

At present the tunnel is used only technological purposes and transportation of urgent cargoes, according to the minister.    

On the date of opening the Anzob pass for traffic, Abdurrahim Ashurov said that to date it has remained to clean only a 4.7-kilometer section of snow and after that the pass would be opened for traffic.  

The minister also noted that a project on rehabilitation of the road from Dushanbe to the settlement of Chanak on the Uzbek border, including construction of a 4,850-meter tunnel through the Shahriston pass, 16 bridges and 16 anti-flood works, had already been worked out.  “The construction is supposed to start in the second half of this year,” Ashurov said.  

According to him, asphalting and concreting works on the “Vahdat-Nurobod” section of road from Dushanbe to the Kyrgyz border will start next week.  

“Rehabilitation of the road Dushanbe – Qurghon Teppa – Danghara – Kulob will be finished in November,” the minister aid.     

“Together with this, work on rehabilitation of rural roads is also ongoing,” said the minister, “Rehabilitation of rural roads across the country requires some 100 million U.S. dollars.” 

“For rehabilitation of 300 kilometers of rural roads in the Rasht Valley Japan intends to provide US$1.8 million via the Asian Development Bank (ADB),” the minister said, noting that the project is supposed to be finished in 18 months.  

            On a broad transport blueprint of Tajikistan , Afghanistan and Iran , the minister said the plan consisted of establishing a transit route running from Iran through Herat in western Afghanistan , Mazar-i Sharif and Sherkhan Bandar in northern Afghanistan to Tajikistan .  According to him, the highway Dusti -- Panji Poyon – Kunduz – Herat – Mashhad – Tehran and from there up to the Iranian port Bandar Abbas will allow increasing volumes of shipments of cargoes.