Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development and international donors will provide a financing package worth over $5 million for critical maintenance of Tajikistan’s national road network.

A loan worth $2.54 million and a capital grant from a multi-donor fund worth $2.54 million will be provided to expand an existing road maintenance project to which has already received a $4 million loan from the EBRD and a $2 million grant from the government of the Netherlands, EBRD said on December 23.

More grant financing will be provided by donor funds for technical cooperation.

“Tajikistan has some very good roads and many poor roads,” Richard Jones, Head of EBRD office in Dushanbe, said. “There is chronic under-investment in the sector; but the government recognizes the need to dramatically improve the state of the country’s roads, and there has been progress in recent years. In Tajikistan, with its mountainous terrain and extreme weather, keeping roads in a good condition requires a lot of work, and we are proud to finance new maintenance equipment in addition to those machines that we have already financed together with the Netherlands’ government”.

The financing will be made to purchase equipment such as graders, excavators, trucks, laboratory and other equipment.

Another important road project financed by the EBRD is about to start. Tajikistan will receive $35 million for rehabilitation and upgrade of the road from Dushanbe to the border with Uzbekistan. Funds will be disbursed when the road design is completed which is expected in the beginning of 2015.

To date, the EBRD has invested some $400 million in various sectors of the Tajik economy, focusing on areas that tangibly improve people’s lives, such as public utilities and infrastructure.