The Manila-headquartered Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $10-million grant to help develop tourism in Tajikistan, according to an announcement.
The project is ADB’s first tourism sector operation in Tajikistan.
“Tajikistan has considerable advantages for developing tourism given its beautiful mountainous landscape, natural assets, and cultural and historical links to the ancient Silk routes and even earlier eras,” said ADB Project Administration Unit Head in Tajikistan Raza Farrukh.
“But the country’s tourism potential remains untapped. Through this project, we will move the government’s efforts on developing the tourism sector to the next level.”
The project will prepare a comprehensive tourism development plan, including market demand analysis and skills mapping, as well as strengthening the institutional capacity in the sector.
The project will also help the country formulate a Tourism Satellite Account, a strategic prerequisite for developing and monitoring the sector that provides information on issues such as tourism share in the country’s gross domestic product, national employment, and foreign direct investment; the relationship of tourism to net foreign exchange flows; the share of various types of tourism along with associated revenues; and the breakdown of tourism expenditures.
Additionally, the project will identify and develop priority investment pipeline and prepare feasibility studies and detailed designs of the identified projects.
The total cost of the project is $11 million, with the Government of Tajikistan providing $1 million. The project is expected to be completed in 2024.
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ADB’s first assistance to Tajikistan was in 1998 to support post-conflict reconstruction. Since then, ADB has mobilized over $1.8 billion for the country, including more than $1.1 billion in grants.
The assistance has helped improve the country’s transport and energy infrastructure, support social development, expand agricultural production, and strengthen regional cooperation and trade.
ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion.
Established in 1966, ADB is owned by 68 members—49 from the region. – © BusinessNewsAsia.com