The Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan announces the suspension of traffic through the "Khatlon" tunnel, located on the Dushanbe-Kulyab-Kalaikhumb-Khorog highway.

"From September 12 to September 19, 2025, the movement of any vehicles through the "Khatlon" tunnel will be temporarily stopped due to repair work," - the Ministry of Transport said in a statement on its website.

The ministry explains that the movement of vehicles these days is carried out along the route Dushanbe-Kulyab-Kalaikhumb-Khorog via an alternative road.

The alternative most likely means the road through the "Chormagzak" mountain pass, under which the "Khatlon" tunnel is laid.

The 4,430-meter tunnel was officially commissioned in November 2013. It was originally called "Chormagzak", but in March 2014 it was renamed in "Khatlon". The tunnel, worth about $70 million, was built by the Chinese company China Road in three years.

The Dushanbe-Bokhtar-Kulyab highway, with a length of 249 km (96 km of the Dushanbe-Bokhtar road and 153 km of Bokhtar-Kulyab), can also be an alternative road along the Dushanbe-Kulyab route.

The length of the Dushanbe-Kulyab highway, on which the "Khatlon" tunnel is located (through the settlements of Vakhdat, Dangara, Pingan and Vose), is 181 km.

It should be noted that the "Ozodi" tunnel (under the Shar-Shar pass) with a length of 2,223 meters has also been built on the Dushanbe-Kulyab highway.