DUSHANBE (TCA) — The government of Tajikistan is negotiating a first loan from the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), Avesta news agency reported with reference to the country’s Finance Ministry.
The loan is needed for the second phase of the project of rehabilitation and upgrade of the road from Tajikistan’s capital Dushanbe to the border with Uzbekistan.
According to the ministry, this project now has only one investor that is funding only half of the project. To complete the project, the government has decided to seek financing from the AIIB.
The project’s total cost is $70 million, $35 million of which has been provided by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.
The Dushanbe-Uzbekistan Border Road Improvement Project covers rehabilitation and upgrade of the 62 kilometer road linking the city of Dushanbe to the Uzbek border and connecting Tajikistan to the Russian Federation to the north (via Uzbekistan) with onward links to Turkey and Western Europe (via Caspian Sea routes). The road is a part of the CAREC corridor Program which seeks to expand trade and improve competitiveness through focused action by all multilateral partners (ADB, EBRD, IMF, IDF, WB and UN) in transport initiatives, trade facilitation, energy, trade policy, and economic corridor development.
The Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) is a multilateral development bank (MDB) focused on the development of infrastructure and other productive sectors in Asia, including energy and power, transportation and telecommunications, rural infrastructure and agriculture development, water supply and sanitation, environmental protection, urban development and logistics.
