DUSHANBE, November 28, Asia-Plus  -- The Anzob pass linking northern Tajikistan to the central part of the country will be closed for traffic soon, Asia-Plus has learned from the First Deputy Transport and Communications Minister Joumakhon Zuhurov.  

According to him, a commission, comprising specialists from the ministry and traffic police directorate, will be sent to the pass to monitor the situation there.  After the closure of the pass for traffic, vehicles will proceed via the tunnel Istiqlol (also known as the Anzob tunnel), which was built with help of Iranian specialists.  

The deputy minister says work on construction of the tunnel has practically been completed and it remains to concrete just 500 meters of its arch.  

A 5.5-kilometer tunnel at the Anzob pass provides year-round transit through Tajikistan.  The tunnel, linking the northern Sughd province to Dushanbe, has allowed dropping the transit time by several hours.