Tajikistan–Afghanistan bridge at Panji Poyon, International bridge over Panj River, between Panji Poyon and Sherkhan Bandar, Tajikistan and Afghanistan
The Tajikistan–Afghanistan bridge at Panji Poyon is a two-lane road bridge over the Panj River, 672 metres long and 11.6 metres wide, linking Nizhniy Pyandzh in Tajikistan with Sherkhan Bandar in Afghanistan. The Italian firm Rizzani de Eccher designed and built it, with financing from the US Army Corps of Engineers.
The bridge opened on 26 August 2007, linking Panji Poyon in Tajikistan with Sherkhan Bandar in Afghanistan across the Panj River. It cost about $40 million, financed by the US Army Corps of Engineers, and was designed and built by the Italian firm Rizzani de Eccher. Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Afghan President Hamid Karzai and US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez attended the opening.
The bridge is named after the two border towns it links, Panji Poyon on the Tajik side and Sherkhan Bandar on the Afghan side. Its opening on 26 August 2007 was attended by Presidents Emomali Rahmon and Hamid Karzai together with US Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, a ceremony that marked the crossing as a shared Tajik-Afghan landmark.
Vehicles cross the bridge during regular border checkpoint hours on both sides. Check current opening schedules before planning your crossing, as times can shift due to regional conditions or border procedures.
This is one of the few permanent crossings along this border section where the river is otherwise difficult to traverse. Its presence has fundamentally changed daily life for isolated communities on both sides of the waterway.
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