DUSHANBE (TCA) — Tajikistan’s Foreign Minister Sirojidin Aslov and Chargé d’Affaires of the Japanese Embassy in Tajikistan Takashi Kamada on March 2 signed exchange notes for the project “Improvement of equipment for the maintenance of roads in the Sughd province and eastern part of the Khatlon province” in Tajikistan, Avesta news agency reported.
According to the Japanese Embassy, to implement the project the government of Japan will give Tajikistan 1.992 billion yens (an equivalent of US $17.5 million) through the office of the Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Tajikistan.
The project will install an asphalt-concrete plant and deliver road maintenance machinery to Tajikistan (a road roller, a vibration compactor, and an asphalt-spreading machine).
The project’s target area includes the Sughd province and eastern part of the Khatlon province, which are home to around 3.6 million people.
The road maintenance machinery will be delivered to state-run transport departments in both provinces and will be used to maintain a total of 5,600 kilometers of motor roads that link Tajikistan to neighboring countries.
Motor roads play an important role in both internal and international cargo transportation in Tajikistan. However, the unsatisfactory condition of Tajik roads caused by poor road maintenance due to the lack of necessary machinery has become a barrier to proper cargo transportation inside the country and transit flows.
