The Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan (MoT) and Chinese company China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC) have reached an agreement on construction of roads and bridges in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).

An official source at a MoT says an agreement on this subject was signed in Dushanbe on March 27 in the framework of the Fourth Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links Program (CARs-4).

photo / Transport Ministry

Under this agreement, CRBC will build a 200-meter bridge across the Ghund River in GBAO’s capital, Khorog, and a 1.1-kilometer road leading to the bridge. 

Besides, the Chinese company will also rehabilitate a 3.4-kilometer section of the Khorog-Murgab highway and build a 550-meter avalanche gallery and a 82.3-meter bridge across the Ghund River in Shugnan district that will connect Barsem village to the Khorog-Murgab highway.  

The estimated budget for this project designed for 30 months is 31.2 million US dollars, the source added.   

The Government of Tajikistan has reportedly received financing from the World Bank toward the costs of the Fourth Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links Program - Sughd Province and GBAO (CARs-4).

The goal of the Fourth Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links Program (CARs-4) is to improve Tajikistan's connectivity and cross-border trade and enhance the resilience and safety of its road infrastructure in Sughd Province and Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).

China Road and Bridge Corporation (CRBC), a subsidiary of Fortune Global 500 company China Communications Construction Company (CCCC), focuses on global civil engineering and construction projects such as highways, railways, bridges, ports, and tunnels. Growing out of the Foreign Aid Office of the Ministry of Communications of China, CRBC and its predecessors have been executing projects since 1958.  In 1979, CRBC was formally established and entered the international contracting market.  The parent entity, CCCC, was formed through the combination of CRBC and China Harbour Engineering Co Ltd (CHEC) in 2005.

CRBC is among the largest engineering and construction firms globally, and operates from more than 50 branches and offices throughout Asia, Africa, Europe and the Americas.  In addition to the design and construction of infrastructure, CRBC is engaged in infrastructure equity investment; real estate development and management; and industrial park equity investment and development.