Reconstruction of the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway

After complaints from residents, the Minister of Transport reviewed the situation on the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway and instructed to identify and eliminate all deficiencies.

Photo: Internet

According to the press service of the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan, Minister Azim Ibrohim, leading a working group that included the management and engineers of the State Unitary Enterprise “Project Institute of Transport Structures,” the project implementation center for road rehabilitation, LLC “Rohi Abreshim,” and others, reviewed the situation on the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway, where “deficiencies have appeared in places” at the 12th kilometer.

The Minister of Transport instructed industry officials, along with contractors and local authorities, to conduct another inspection along the entire length of the highway, determine the cause of the deficiencies, and present their findings in writing. He also instructed the management and engineers of the State Unitary Enterprise “Project Institute of Transport Structures” and the project implementation center for road rehabilitation to eliminate “deficiencies, namely cracks in the road surface.”

Photo: Internet

The press service of the ministry explains that the reasons for the road damage are due to “the organization of car wash points along the road, as well as channels leading to the road’s drainage systems, which fill with water, eroding the road’s foundation, leading to its destruction.”

However, residents of the country believe that the cause of the destruction of this highway is poor construction and the embezzlement of part of the allocated funds.

Earlier, Azda TV reported that the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway, which was opened at the end of 2021, is already in disrepair.

It was previously reported that on October 29, a ceremonial opening of the Dushanbe-Bokhtar highway took place, where the country’s president Emomali Rahmon commissioned the first and second phases of this road after reconstruction and upgrading. State media have repeatedly reported on the good quality of this road.

It was noted that the first phase of the project covers 33.2 km, resulting in the road being upgraded from a third category to a first category “B.” The width of the road ranges from 16 to 25 meters.

Authorities reported that the road was built at a cost of about 97 million dollars in the form of grants and loans from the Asian Development Bank, the OPEC Fund, and over 17 million dollars allocated by the Republic of Tajikistan.

At that time, authorities noted that “the road was built with the participation of about 400 Tajik workers and specialists and 50 foreign specialists in accordance with international road standards.”

Currently, the third phase of the project is being implemented, which involves the reconstruction of this highway from Kizilkal’a to Bokhtar, with a length of 9.2 kilometers. The project is funded by a grant from the government of Japan in the amount of 30.1 million dollars.