DUSHANBE, May 27, 2014, Asia-Plus -- The work on rehabilitation of a vital road linking Dushanbe with the Uzbekistan border via Hisor Valley and the town of Tursunzoda is being carried out in accordance with schedule, the Executive Director of the Road Rehabilitation Projects, Mukhtor Nematov, told journalists on May 26.

“To-date, we have completed 85 percent of construction works,” Nematov noted.

According to him, China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), which has been granted the license for implementation of this project, has drawn 68 million U.S. dollars so far.

We will recall that rehabilitation of the road began on November 7, 2011.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has provided a $120 million grant to help Tajikistan upgrade the road linking the capital Dushanbe with the Uzbekistan border.  A grant agreement was inked in Dushanbe on January 20, 2011.

The road is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Corridor 3 that spans almost 7,000 km from the Russian Federation in the north to the Persian Gulf in the south.

The 62-kilometer highway passes through the Hisor Valley and the town of Tursunzoda - two major economic areas in Tajikistan.  Hisor Valley has the largest agricultural output in the country, producing cotton, grain, fruits, and vegetables. Tursunzoda is home to Central Asia''s largest aluminum processing plant as well as light industry.

The grant finances road upgrading and improvements to drainage structures and bridges.  The grant is also improving facilities at the Dusti border, which handles about 50,000 vehicles per year, or a quarter of Tajikistan''s cross-border vehicles and freight. The project includes connecting the border point to a dependable power source, building modern customs buildings, and installing new information technology, all of which will help increase trade and cut waiting time at the border.

The section of the road from Dushanbe to Tursunzoda will be upgraded into four-lane highway, 25 meters in width, while the section of road from Tursunzoda to Uzbekistan border will be a two-lane highway, 15 meters in width.