Fourth Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links Program

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The Fourth Phase of the Central Asia Regional Links (CARs) program, a series of projects (SOP) in multiple countries (borrowers), has the following components.Component 1: Improve regional connections in Sughd and GBAO regions (US$89 million equivalent from IDA; US$1 million from PACT Trust Fund). Activities to be financed under this component include: (i) rehabilitation of a 50.5 km long, Category I and III roads in Sughd in four sections (estimated at US$37.0 million); (ii) construction of Khorog bridge and tunnels/galleries and bridges around Barsem Village in GBAO to enhance the resilience of the road connectivity from climate hazards such as mudslides and avalanches (estimated US$46.7 million); (iii) provision of construction supervision services for road construction and rehabilitation works (estimated US$4.3 million); and (iv) preparation of feasibility studies for improvement of regional road connectivity for Sughd, Khatlon and GBAO regions as basis for potential lending operation (CARs-5), to be partially financed by PACT Trust Fund (estimated US$2.0 million).Component 2: Improve road asset preservation and road safety (US$20 million equivalent) comprises two sub-components.Sub-Component 2a Improve road asset preservation (US$8 million equivalent) will finance (i) supply and installation of weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems to preserve road assets, (ii) installation and commission of software packages for recording, storage and analysis of road network condition data, development of prioritized maintenance planning, optimized to allow for budget constraints, and annual maintenance plans, and (iii) training on the installed systems. Activities under this component have been carefully coordinated with other development partners.Sub-Component 2b Improve Road Safety (US$12.0 million equivalent) will finance three activities. (i) Support the Department of State Automobile Inspection to enforce use of 4-wheel vehicle safety belts, through a legal review and regulatory reforms, publicity campaign to warn of start of enforcement, and design of, and implement support for, an enforcement campaign. (ii) Retrofit or construct safety barriers along selected road sections in severe mountainous terrains as a demonstration pilot. (iii) Support the Department of State Automobile Inspection under the Ministry of Interior, the lead agency for road safety, to develop a Road Safety Strategy and to establish a Road Safety Observatory.Component 3: Facilitate cross-border movement of goods (US$20 million equivalent). Two groups of activities will be financed under this component. (i) Upgrading of the Customs information and communication technology (ICT) platform (estimated at US$17.5 million), including equipment and facilities (computers, networking equipment, data center, end-use terminals), customs automation software, development and testing of the provided system, and implementation support up to 2025. (ii) Strengthening of institutional capacity and human resources in Customs Service (estimated at US$2.5 million), comprising integration of the newly upgraded Customs ICT platform with the National Single Window and other related systems, technical assistance on customs modernization, implementation of time release studies, assessment of implementation of measures under the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement, strengthening of the human resources unit within the Customs Service to ensure gender equality in employment and career promotion, and training of staff on code of ethics and gender-sensitivity to improve services to both female and male customers.Component 4: Support project implementation, coordination and management (US$2 million equivalent). This component will support project implementation, coordination and management including provision of goods, consultants’ services and training, operating costs and financial audit.Component 5: Contingent Emergency Response (US$0). This zero-dollar component is designed to provide swift response in the event of an eligible crisis or emergency, by enabling Tajikistan to request the World Bank to reallocate project funds to support emergency response, and reconstruction, where needed.