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ADB to Boost Afghanistan's Civil Aviation Sector

MANILA, PHILIPPINES (12 August 2005) - The Asian Development Bank (ADB) will help improve Afghanistan's air transport system by boosting management of the country's civil aviation administration, through a technical assistance (TA) grant approved for US$1 million. [ PDF ]

The TA will improve the air safety oversight of the Ministry of Transport (MOT) and maintenance of a financial management system that will be developed to enhance financial governance of airport operations.

It will help develop air safety regulatory frameworks to be adopted in a phased manner in coordination with other aid agencies, with the ultimate goal of establishing an independent civil aviation authority. It will also help draft a civil aviation act that will remedy the deficiencies of the existing acts, as well as other civil aviation regulations and safety orders needed.

Work manuals for airworthiness control, flight operations inspection, personnel licensing, air operator certification, and accident and incident investigation will likewise be developed.

To address financial management problems facing the sector, the TA will develop financial management systems for airport operations, which will also be adopted in a phased manner. Accounting and audit manuals to guide MOT staff will be prepared, and training and human resources development programs will be conducted.

"With air traffic growing in Afghanistan, there is a pressing need to upgrade air safety oversight and financial management," says Dong-Soo Pyo, an ADB Principal Financial Specialist.

"Boosting the capacity of MOT staff is crucial to assurance of air safety and improvement of financial governance of airport operations."

Two decades of war left Afghanistan's civil aviation infrastructure in ruins. Being a landlocked country, however, with the rugged Hindu Kush mountains occupying the geographic center of the country, air transport is depended on heavily for the movement of passengers and goods.

In 2004, ADB agreed to help finance a project to rehabilitate seven regional airports in Afghanistan and provide a human resource development program [ PDF ] to strengthen the capacity of the MOT.

As air traffic picks up along with the rapid expansion of economic activities over the country, the issue of air safety looms larger, while the capacity of MOT to address this is virtually nonexistent.

On the financial front, while revenue from airport operations grows in tandem with increasing air traffic, the current financial system employed does not provide reliable accounting, leading to significant losses for the Government.

The Government will contribute $40,000 equivalent toward the TA's total cost of $1,040,000. MOT is the executing agency for the TA, which is due for completion in July 2006.

The Asian Development Bank is dedicated to reducing poverty in the Asia and Pacific region through pro-poor sustainable economic growth, social development, and good governance. Established in 1966, it is owned by 63 members, with 45 from the region. In 2004, it approved loans and technical assistance totaling $5.3 billion and $196.6 million, respectively.

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