DUSHANBE -- The Tajik capital's administration says it has changed its controversial reconstruction plan for Dushanbe due to financial problems, RFE/RL's Tajik Service reports.
City officials have decided to establish a Center for Dushanbe's Architecture and Development that will resume construction on the massive project next year.
Dushanbe officials had listed some 1,300 buildings in the capital as having been built without permission. The buildings were then scheduled for demolition, which sparked protests from homeowners, who often received little or no compensation when their homes were razed.
Officials from the State Committee on Architecture and Development told RFE/RL that the changes in the rebuilding plan may have been caused by the recent 30 percent decline in prices in Tajik real estate.