DUSHANBE, November 27, Asia-Plus -- Issues related to handling cargo traffic via the Dusti (Friendship) bridge across the Panj River joining Tajikistan and Afghanistan at Khatlon’s Panji Poyon were discussed at a meeting of Tajik Foreign Minister Hamrokhon Zarifi with Afghan Ambassador to Tajikistan Muhammad Khairkhoh in Dushanbe on November 22, information posted on the Tajik MFA website today said.   

In the course of the talks the two also exchanged views on some topical issues of regional policy as well as international community’s support for reconstruction of Afghanistan’s economy.  Zarifi and Khairkhoh also touched upon issues related to prospects of further expansion of cooperation of Afghanistan with member nations of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), which includes Tajikistan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Uzbekistan.  

We will recall that an official opening of the bridge joining the two countries at Panji Poyon was held on August 26, 2007.  The bridge provides the region with inter-connectivity by cutting the distance between Dushanbe and seaports almost in half.  It also facilitates access to a warm water port in Karachi, Pakistan, for the countries to the north.  This should spur increased trade and economic development throughout the region.

The bridge is the largest U.S. Government-funded ($37.1 million) infrastructure project for Tajikistan. Norway also donated nearly $900,000 for the bridge. 

The bridge, built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the firm Rizzani de Eccher S.p.A. of Udine, Italy, is 673 meters long and can carry up to 1,000 vehicles per day.  It consists of 19,100 cubic meters of concrete and stainless steel sheets fabricated in Europe, weathered in Italy, then shipped to Tajikistan.  Its eleven piers, twelve steel spans, and two abutments are designed to require little or no maintenance.  The project also includes Border Police Barracks, an Administration Building, a Dining Facility, a Drive-Through Scanner Building and a small Customs Facility.

The bridge crosses the Panj River between Sherkhon Bandar, Afghanistan, and Panji Poyon, Tajikistan.  In Afghanistan, the Asian Development Bank is building a road link to the Afghan Ring Road.  Japan is building and rehabilitating a road from the bridge northwards to connect to existing roads and the southern Tajik city of Dusti. 

The project includes Border Police Barracks, an Administration Building, a Dining Facility, a Drive-Through Scanner Building and a small Customs Facility.