UNIPATH STAFF
An Uzbek border crossing has received a $2.8-million upgrade, the first of several improvements along a strategically important border exploited by criminals to smuggle illegal drugs and contraband.
Completed in the summer of 2016, the upgrade to the Lyavob Border Post was a joint project between the Uzbekistan State Border Protection Committee and U.S. Central Command’s Interagency Group Counter Narcotics Division through the U.S Embassy’s Special Projects Office.
The new facility will enable border guards to prevent the flow of drugs and the illegal movement of people across the border. Terror groups use the proceeds of drug sales to finance their campaigns, and porous borders enable foreign fighters to join terrorist organizations.
The upgrades included officer quarters, a horse stable, dog kennels, an administrative building, a fuel pump station and new living areas. These new facilities allow border agents to better coordinate countercontraband efforts and sustain a larger force to patrol this important area.
Uzbekistan was responsible for the project’s security and the construction of retention walls, and Uzbekistan’s site coordinator was instrumental to the project’s success.
The upgraded border crossing is expected to be the first in a series of border security upgrades in Uzbekistan.