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Afghan Road Project will Help Refugees Reintegrate into Society

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (4 October, 2002) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) today announced the approval of a US$15 million grant to Afghanistan to rehabilitate a large portion of the 100-kilometer Kandahar to Spin Boldak road, one of the country's major links with its neighbors.

The project also includes social components such as training to develop skills in road construction, supporting education for children and adults, and providing basic health services as well as microcredit for returning refugees and displaced persons, including demobilized combatants. The grant will come from ADB's Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR), financed by the Government of Japan.

"This is an innovative project to pilot sustainable approaches to assist refugees and displaced persons in their resettlement and reintegration into society, while rebuilding key infrastructure for long-term development," says Mr. Yoshihiro Iwasaki, Director General of ADB's South Asia Department.

The road works - involving improvement of a major section of the road including 33 km that needs full reconstruction and replacement of two bridges -- will provide jobs for 10,000 returning refugees and internally displaced persons.

Every day, some 1,000 returnees arrive in Spin Boldak from Pakistan. Over 200,000 refugees who have returned from the southern route are currently settled in the north and west of Kandahar. Adding to the volume is an influx of displaced persons from the drought-affected southwest and conflict-affected north. It is important to settle the refugees temporarily near Kandahar and find them jobs before they can return their places of origin in rural areas. If the refugees proceed to Kabul, where most of the refugees through eastern routes are settling, the overcrowded situation will be exacerbated.

Over 1.7 million refugees have returned since early 2002 and this figure is projected to rise to 2 million refugees by year's end.

The project will provide:

• Training for road construction, income generation, microcredit services, and nutrition and child care. Of the estimated 12,000 to 13,000 people to receive training, 10,000 will be involved in construction related activities, 1,500-2,000 in income generation activities and microcredit eligibility, and 1,500-2,000 in nutrition and childcare.
• Education support for children of refugees and displaced persons, and literacy and basic education for adults, through the construction of community-based schools, the rehabilitation of education facilities and the provision of materials and equipment, books, school dress and support for teachers.
• Basic health education and services through 400 community health workers, and medicines, as well as the construction/rehabilitation of health facilities.
• Microcredit for income-generating activities and support for managing credit through nongovernmental organizations.

The project will also support international trade and capacity building for local contractors to construct, rehabilitate, and maintain major roads and bridges.

The road improvement is due to begin in October 2002 for completion by December 2003. The entire project will be implemented over 30 months. The Afghan Assistance Coordination Authority under the Ministry of Finance will coordinate the project and the Ministry of Public Works will be the main executing agency.

The JFPR was set up in 2000 with an initial contribution of 10 billion yen (about US$90 million), followed by additional contributions of $155 million and a commitment of $50 million. It supports projects that target poor people and prioritizes innovative approaches. Last month, ADB announced a $4 million grant from JFPR to finance a project to help build Afghanistan's education system.

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