DUSHANBE, December 29, 2008, Asia-Plus  -- Issues related to development of transport corridor that would link Tajikistan to neighboring countries, including China, were a major topic of a meeting of the deputy head of Tajikistan’s Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI), Asanali Karamaliyev, with consultant to the ADB CAREC Program for management of supplies, Hon Ki Max (phonetically spelled), in Dushanbe on December 26, according to the CCI press service.

In the course of the talks, Karamaliyev noted that automotive communication and construction of roads played an important role in Tajikistan’s economy and the country’s authorities attached significant importance to construction of roads, bridges and tunnels.   He, in particular, noted that the fact that the highway Dushanbe-Khorog-Kulma-Kashgar was open for traffic only six months per year created certain difficulties for entrepreneurs dealing with transportation of goods.

For his part, the ADB expert noted that the road Dushanbe-Jirgatol-Saritash (Kyrgyzstan)  was the most convenient transport corridor both in terms of length and time and fuel saving.  Mr. Hong invited the CCI leadership to attend a two-day seminar on the transport corridors project for Tajikistan that would be held in Guangzhou, China in February 2009.

The two also discussed problem facing Tajik export supplies to the CIS states and opportunities to get access via Afghanistan and Pakistan to the southern sea ports, the press service said.