DUSHANBE, October 28, 2013, Asia-Plus -- Tajik Prime Minister Oqil Oqilov has harshly criticized the slow pace of reconstruction of the Ayni-Panjakent road in the northern Sughd province.

Subhiddin Muhiddinov, a senior consultant to the president’s press service, says prime minister’s criticism came during his visit to the Sughd province on October 26.  Oqilov reportedly ordered to increase the number of machines and workers.

Currently, 189 machines and more than 580 workers, including 300 local and 280 Chinese works, are involved in reconstruction of this road, Muhiddinov said.  

We will recall that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) provided a $100 million grant in September 2012 to help Tajikistan upgrade a vital road between Ayni-Panjakent and the Uzbek border in northern Tajikistan.

The 113-kilometer road — part of the historic Silk Road — runs along the Zarafshon River through the Zarafshon Valley, crossing the Ayni and Panjakent districts before ending at the border with Uzbekistan.