| Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge | |
|---|---|
| Carries | Commercial and passenger vehicles up to 25 metric tonnes |
| Crosses | Amu Darya river |
| Locale | Darvaz Tajikistan / Afghanistan |
| Design | Suspension bridge |
| Total length | 135 metres |
| Width | 3.5 metres |
| Opened | July 6, 2004 |
The Tajik-Afghan Friendship Bridge connects the two banks of Darvaz across the Amu Darya river separating Tajikistan and Afghanistan, at Khorog.[1][2][3] It was opened on 6 July 2004.
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Inaugurated by Tajikistan’s President Emomali Rahmonov, Afghanistan’s Vice-President Nematullah Shahrani and Imam Aga Khan in July, 2004, the bridge was built at a cost of USD $500,000 by the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) with collaborative support from the governments United States and Norway.[1] It was the second in a series of bridges being built between Tajikistan and Afghanistan by the AKDN along the Panj River. (The Amu Darya begins at the junction of the Panj River and Vakhsh River.) [4]
The 135-metre long suspension bridge has a single-track 3.5 meters wide and a carrying capacity of 25 metric tonnes.[1] It carries both commercial and passenger traffic and represents a permanent overland link between the two countries.
An additional bridge, connecting Tajikistan and Afghanistan, spanning the Panj river, at Panji Poyon (alternatively Nizhni Pyanj), was opened on 26 August 2007.[5][6][7]
The first bridge crossing the Tajik-Afghan border was opened in November 2002, connecting Tem in Tajikistan and Demogan in Afghanistan.[1] It too was constructed with assistance from the Aga Khan Foundation.
There are plans to span the border with an additional bridge, spanning the Panj river, in Gorno Badakhshan's Khumroghi area near Vanj.[2]
A railway line from Dushanbe to Shir Khan Bandar in Afghanistan crossing the Pyanj River saw construction start in 2009.