The poor condition of sections of a regional road linking Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan, with the border of Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz Republic, which had hampered regional trade, was the key challenge addressed by the Dushanbe–Kyrgyz Border Road Rehabilitation Project, Phase II. The project was approved by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for a loan of $29.5 million and a grant of $0.5 million in November 2005. The regional road is part of the Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) transport corridors 3 and 5, which connects Tajikistan and neighboring Central Asian countries with the People’s Republic of China.
At appraisal, the project’s loan component aimed to finance (i) the improvement of 89 kilometers (km) of the central and border sections of the Dushanbe–Kyrgyz border road and around 60 km of rural roads and enhance; (ii) the sustainability of Tajikistan‘s road network through increased financing of road maintenance, provision of road maintenance equipment, installation of vehicle-weighing systems, and pilot implementation of road maintenance tendering; (iii) stronger institutional capacity of the Ministry of Transport (MOT); (iv) more robust governance in the MOT; and (v) improvement of road safety by strengthening the Transport Safety and Security Unit. Its grant component was to support the HIV/AIDS and Migration Program that aimed to assist in mitigating the spread of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections (STIs) in the project area.
The project’s envisaged impacts were increased trade in the region and increased economic growth in the project area, while its intended outcome was improved and sustainable regional and national road networks. To meet a cost overrun in civil works, the OPEC Fund for International Development approved a loan of $3.5 million for the project in 2007. Subsequently, the government and ADB determined an additional financing need of $20 million to rehabilitate damaged sections of the project road and protect another one from being submerged by a nearby hydropower project. The damaged sections had previously been rehabilitated under phase I of this project, but frequent natural disasters and a sharp increase in traffic had eroded the improvements and required repairs and additional maintenance work. In July 2009, ADB thus approved a supplementary grant of $20 million to finance ancillary works at the central and border sections, upgrade one section, and construct a new bypass at another section of the project road.
At completion, the project delivered most of its planned outputs, exceeding targets in some. Four sections of the main project road, the Dushanbe–Kyrgyz border road, totaling 118.7 km were improved. So were 59.9 km of rural roads, selected based on their need and socioeconomic relevance. Provision of road maintenance equipment and static vehicle-weighing systems were cancelled early in project implementation, and the funds were reallocated to meet civil works funding shortfalls. After completing the civil works for the border section, a part of the pavement was seriously damaged by continuous heavy landslides, and this obstructed traffic flows. To enable unceasing safe traffic, the executing agency (EA) and ADB agreed to procure and install road maintenance equipment for the year-round upkeep of the border section and other designated areas, using the supplementary grant.
Substantial delivery of the planned outputs, as well as the adjustments made, allowed the project to achieve its intended outcome entirely. Improvement of the international transport corridor has boosted the performance of the road network and ensured efficient travel and transportation. Daily international freight traffic on the project corridor increased to 82 trucks, against 10 in 2006. Vehicles have been travelling within 7 hours on average between Dushanbe and the Tajikistan–Kyrgyz border, against 10 hours in 2006. Vehicle operating cost and accident rate have significantly declined, stimulating international and domestic transport demand. According to the MOT, annual average daily traffic (AADT) on the main road reached 2,071 vehicles in 2012, against 864 in 2006. Traffic accidents have also significantly declined.
The improved rural roads, which pass through three rayons (districts) in the Rasht Valley, have enabled around 260,000 residents in the valley to travel to distant markets. They have also considerably enhanced the rural population’s access to schools and health centers along the main road and in Garm, an economic center, supported small and medium-sized businesses and social networking activities, and boosted agriculture and processing industries. Similarly, the HIV/AIDS and Migration Program successfully delivered its planned outputs and outcome. Through massive information and education, supported by training and capacity development of rayon health staff, local governments, and nongovernment organizations, it has helped foster early diagnosis and proper treatment of HIV/AIDS and other STIs in the project area.
The project, whose impacts are likely to be achieved by the target year of 2015, had the MOT as EA for the loan-financed components and the Ministry of Health for the grant-financed HIV/AIDS and Migration Program.
