QURGHON TEPPA, December 15, Asia-Plus -- A new passenger terminal will put into operation in Khatlon’s Nizhny Panj in mid-January, Bozorali Ghulomov, representative from the Ministry of Transport and Communications (MoTC) at the crossing checkpoint Nizhny Panj, said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, the terminal will offer all necessary conditions to drivers and businesspeople.   

Ghulomov said the ministry controlled stream of vehicles coming to Tajikistan from Afghanistan.  A new overland route from Dushanbe to Kabul is expected to be launched next year, the MoTC representative said.  

Joumakhon Rajabov, chief of the customs control point Nizhny Panj, said that the bridge across the Panj River linking Tajikistan’s Nizhny Panj with Afghanistan’s port of Sherkhon Bandar promoted two-way trade between the two countries. 

 “Since October 26, when the bridge was opened for traffic, stream of vehicles proceeding via the bridge has increased,” said Rajabov, “In November alone, goods turnover amounted to $3,166,632, while in August, it was $1,614,228.”

According to him, the bridge works four hours per day: two hours in the morning (from 9:30 a.m. to 11:300 a.m.) and two hours in the afternoon (from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.).  The customs control chief said that the bridge has to date transported transport more than 100 cars daily.  

We will recall that the bridge Dusti (Friendship), constructed under financial support of the United States, was inaugurated on August 26, 2007.  

The $37 million span has replaced an intermittent ferry service across the fast-flowing river.  The bridge offers a link to the outside world and it could turn Afghanistan into a major transit point for goods and link the whole of Central Asia to Pakistan’s port of Karachi.  

The United States hopes the bridge will consolidate permanent overland links between Tajikistan and Afghanistan, enhancing economic and commercial opportunities for both sides of the river and allowing goods and people to move across more easily.

The bridge, construction of which began almost two years ago, stands to benefit Tajikistan, where external trade has suffered from a lack of efficient and reliable overland trade routes.

The United States supplied most of the funding and know-how for the project.  Other major funders include Norway, with more than $900,000 towards the construction, the Government of Japan providing funds to complete the highway, which will connect the bridge with Dusti, administrative center of the Qumsangir district, and the European Union.  . 

The length of the bridge across the Panj River is 672 meters, and the width is 11.6 meters. The bridge is expected to transport more than 1,000 cars daily.