The Asian Development Bank has agreed to give a $120 million grant to the impoverished Central Asian nation of Tajikistan to upgrade a road linking it to neighboring Uzbekistan, AP reported. The bank said Friday the road would be a part of a 7,000-kilometer (4,200-mile) highway spanning from Russia to the Persian Gulf. Renovating the road will restore transportation links between the two former Soviet nations, which have fallen into disrepair since a Civil War that devastated Tajikistan in the 1990s. Funds will also be devoted to improving a border crossing that handles around 50,000 vehicles annually, which account for a quarter of Tajikistan's cross-border vehicles and freight. The Asian Development Bank has provided Tajikistan with $700 million in grants and loans since 1998. -- SPA
