China to build longest bridge in Central Asia

China to fund Tajikistan's $60M bridge, set to be Central Asia's longest, expanding influence.

DUSHANBE:

A Chinese company will help construct a road bridge in Tajikistan set to become Central Asia's longest, an official said Wednesday, as Beijing expands its influence in the ex-Soviet region.

The bridge across the Surkhob river in central Tajikistan will be 920 metres (3,018 ft) long and constructed mostly by Tajik workers, according to officials.

China's Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) will lend Tajikistan the money needed for construction of the bridge, a spokesperson for the Tajik transport ministry told AFP on Wednesday.

Moscow remains Tajikistan's biggest trading partner, but over the last decade China has invested more than $4 billion in its landlocked neighbour, rivalling the Kremlin's influence.

The bridge project will cost around $60 million, the Tajik ministry earlier announced.

It will be built in a mountainous area with treacherous roads near a vast unfinished Soviet hydroelectric dam that Tajikistan plans to complete.