DUSHANBE , June 13, Asia-Plus - Concrete work on the Anzob tunnel linking the northern province of Sughd with the central part of the country will have been completed by mid-June, according to information from the Ministry of Transport.  

The Transport Ministry source says an official opening of the Anzob tunnel for traffic is scheduled for next spring.  Besides the concrete works, they have to complete many other works, including the provision of the facility with electric power, according to the source.

As it had been reported earlier, excavation works on the Anzob Tunnel project were completed in March this year.  On March 23, after twenty months of excavation works the Anzob tunnel was dug through a mountain.  

We will recall that the construction of the “Anzob” tunnel began in 1989 but because of destabilization of the situation in the republic the construction was suspended and resumed only in 2003.  In May 2003, Tajikistan and Iran signed in Tehran a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on joint construction of the Anzob tunnel in Tajikistan .  The Iranian company “Sobir International” won a tender for the construction of the tunnel, and the Iranian government provided US$31 million for implementation of this project.  Of this amount, 10 million U.S. dollars were provided in a form of grant.     

Once the Anzob tunnel becomes operational, it will not only facilitate transportation and direct north-south transit within Tajikistan in the winter season but also drop the transit time by four to five hours.