DUSHANBE: A Chinese firm has been selected to assist in constructing what will become the longest bridge in Central Asia, a Tajik official announced on Wednesday. The project reflects China’s growing economic presence in the former Soviet region.
Spanning the Surkhob River in central Tajikistan, the bridge will extend 920 meters (3,018 feet) and will primarily be built by local Tajik workers, according to officials.
Funding for the project will come from a loan provided by China’s Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), a spokesperson for Tajikistan’s transport ministry confirmed to AFP.
Although Russia remains Tajikistan’s largest trading partner, China has significantly expanded its investments in the country over the past decade, injecting over $4 billion and increasingly challenging Moscow’s influence.
The bridge is expected to cost approximately $60 million, as previously announced by the Tajik ministry.
Situated in a mountainous region with difficult terrain, the structure will be built near an unfinished Soviet-era hydroelectric dam, which Tajikistan aims to complete in the future.
