DUSHANBE, November 24, Asia-Plus - A commission of the Ministry of Transport that visited the Anzob pass and passed a resolution to close the pass for traffic on November 22.

Alovuddin Anoyatshoyev, the deputy head of the highways department of the Ministry of Transport, told Asia-Plus that there is risk of avalanches in the area of the pass following the recent snowfalls.  The pass will be closed through May 2007, according to him.  

As it had been reported earlier, the Anzob tunnel will work in the winter period when the Anzob pass is closed for traffic.  Formal acceptance of the Anzob tunnel linking the Sughd province to the central part of the country is scheduled for April next year; however, it will work two hours per day, from 12:00 to 14:00, on Thursdays and Sundays.