AFGHANISTAN

Documents & Texts from America.gov

29 August 2007
Afghanistan-Tajikistan Bridge Links Central, South Asia

Washington – They had not waited for the orchestra to play or for officials to cut the ribbon. They did not need much encouragement from their governments either. Business people in Afghanistan and Tajikistan had sensed new opportunity when they saw the 670-meter bridge rising over the Pyanj River between the two countries. New hotels on either side of the border, and a restaurant and a gas station on the Tajik side, had opened even before the $38 million structure was finished.

The bridge, financed by the United States with a contribution from Norway, is expected to help alleviate poverty in both countries by stimulating small and medium-size businesses and farms. Bilateral trade, which amounted to $25 million in 2006, is expected to double over the next five years, according to the U.S. Embassy in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. The two countries have agreed to create free economic zones on both sides of the bridge and ease customs and visa requirements, according to news reports.

The bridge also will have a “profound” impact on Tajikistan’s entire economy, as it will shorten by nearly half the distance Tajik goods have to travel to the nearest accessible seaport – in Pakistan rather than in Latvia, according to a 2005 World Bank study. It will make Tajik exports more cost-competitive in global markets and imports more accessible to Tajik consumers.

Afghanistan also will benefit greatly, according to Tajik, Afghan and U.S. officials.

At the bridge opening ceremony August 26, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said the bridge will become “the widest connection between Afghanistan and the rest of the world.” It will help that country broaden markets for its products and gain wider access to goods from Tajikistan, Russia and Kazakhstan. Afghanistan could see trade with regional countries increase by 25 times as a result of the new bridge, according to the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan William Wood.

With a capacity of up to 1,000 vehicles a day, the structure is expected also to become a critical part of a larger commercial route between two important Asian regions and bring stability and prosperity.

Gutierrez described the bridge as a “physical and symbolic link between Central Asia and South Asia,” while Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who also attended the ceremony, called it a link that “unites Central Asia with Southern and Eastern Asia.”

On the Tajik side, the bridge will connect to routes leading north, west and east through roads that Japan plans to build or modernize; on the Afghan side, it will connect to Afghanistan’s nearly completed ring road and Pakistan's port of Karachi through roads constructed with Asian Development Bank financing.

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for South and Central Asian Affairs Evan Feigenbaum told USINFO that opening new trade routes is important for land-locked Central Asian countries as they try to enhance their independence and expand their options for development.

Central Asian nations and Afghanistan have discussed cooperation on energy, telecommunications and transportation projects. The World Bank is leading a multinational project to construct high-voltage power lines that will carry electricity from future Tajik and Kyrgyz power plants to Afghanistan and Pakistan. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are among countries with the highest hydroelectric potential in the world.

U.S., Tajik and Afghan officials hope the bridge also will help facilitate greater cooperation between Tajikistan and Afghanistan on security issues.

At the Pyanj river bridge, modern border posts and custom facilities, co-funded by the United States and the European Union, will include state of the art scanning equipment for vehicles and cargo. Border facilities are expected to become operational later in 2007.

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

back to top ^