DUSHANBE, March 18, 2011, Asia-Plus -- Quality of works on construction of the Anzob road tunnel and rehabilitation of the Danghara-Kulob highway leaves much to be desired, Amir Katayev, chairman of the Committee on Energy, Construction, Energy and Infrastructure within the Majlisi Namoyandagon (Tajikistan’s lower chamber of parliament), remarked on March 18 at open parliamentary hearings on implementation of the 2010-2011 budget spending for the transport sector.

According to him, bringing the country out of the transportation impasse will remain the main task of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) for the next several years.  “The government has done a lot over the past decade for resumption of a year-round automobile communication between the regions of the country and now along with bringing the country out of the transportation deadlock we should make Tajikistan the transit state,” Katayev noted.

MP said that there were cases of untargeted use and misappropriation by some subdivisions of a MoT of funds allocated from the budget for enhancement of the transport sector.

“In 2010 the budget earmarked 793 million somoni for the transportation system and in 2011, this amount increased to 980.5 million somoni, while according to findings by the anticorruption agency, misappropriation of budgetary funds in the country’s rail company, Rohi Ohani Tojikiston (Tajik Railways), last year was estimated at 1.095 million somoni and in the investment road rehabilitation project units, shortfall was estimated at 1.235 million somoni,” said Katayev, “In the MoT civil aviation department, this amount exceeded 15 million somoni.”