DUSHANBE, July 27, 2009, Asia-Plus  -- 100 road-maintenance equipment and machines have been delivered to Tajikistan in the framework of the project for upgrading road maintenance in Tajikistan, Bozorali Hayotov, an official with the Project Implementation Unit (PIU), said in an interview with Asia-Plus.

According to him, a $6.6 million project is being implemented due to loan and grant funds provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), Hayotov said.

“The road-maintenance equipment has been purchased in the framework of an agreement signed between Tajik Ministry of Transport and Communications and China’s Sinohydro,” said the PIU official, “A group of Chinese specialists will arrive in Tajikistan in the near future to instruct Tajik specialists in operating the equipment.”

After years of lack of investment the road network in Tajikistan is in urgent need of rehabilitation.  Studies have shown that today some 70 per cent of the national road network is considered to be in poor condition.  The government has therefore embarked on an ambitious road rehabilitation and construction program to avoid Tajikistan being excluded from international trade flows.