DUSHANBE , January 11, Asia-Plus - As of January 8 4,210 meters of transport and 4,450 meters of air-and-drainage mains have been dug, Said Karimov, engineer-in-chief with the constructing enterprises’ directorate within the Tajik Ministry of Transport, said in his in interview with Asia-Plus. 

According to him, to complete the construction of the tunnel it remains to dig 784.6 meters of the transport and 448.6 meters of the air-and-drainage mains.  He says that at present builders are daily digging 12.3 meters of the transport main and 6.8 meters of the air-and-drainage main.  “More than 400 local and foreign specialists are working on this facility of the statewide importance,” Mr. Karimov said, adding that they plan to put the tunnel into operation according to schedule – on March 21 this year.

As it had been reported earlier, Tajikistan and Iran signed an agreement on joint construction of a 5-kilometer Anzob tunnel in Tajikistan in 2003.  Iranian construction company “Sabir International” is participating in the construction of the tunnel.  The Iranian side has invested US$39 million in this project, according Karimov.  Once the project on the Anzob tunnel becomes operational, it will allow dropping the transit time by four to five hours and making the transit rout shorter by 35 kilometers.