Catalog

Repairs on Track
ADB Review [ November 2004 ]

Despite security challenges, repairs to Afghanistan’s main link with Pakistan are continuing

By Omana Nair (onair@adb.org)
External Relations Specialist

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN

Despite security and other challenges, repairs to the 103.5- kilometer (km) Kandahar-Spin Boldak road that runs south of Afghanistan to the border with Pakistan are on track. In mid-March, half the repair work was completed, though much remains to be done to finish the remaining portion on schedule.

REBUILDING THE ROAD HOME Returning refugees and displaced persons working on the Kandahar-Spin Boldak Road

The work to be completed includes replacing two severely damaged bridges. The highway is Afghanistan’s main commercial route to Pakistan and other parts of the region. Military action and a lack of maintenance meant it was in an appalling condition before repairs started at the end of 2002.

The road improvement project was identified as a short-term priority in the Comprehensive Needs Assessment that was jointly conducted by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and other development partners in early 2002.

In total, 42 km of the road need full reconstruction, with the remaining road needing resurfacing, and two bridges at Arghistan and Mail having to be replaced.

The road rehabilitation project (to a two-lane asphalt-surfaced standard) is being financed under a $15 million grant from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction and a $15 million grant from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development. Both grants are being administered by ADB. The project was approved in October 2002 and the civil works contract was awarded in May 2003.

The ADB team included Liqun Jin, Vice-President (Operations 1); Paul Speltz, Executive Director; Troy Wray and Pascal Grégoire, Alternate Executive Directors; John Samy, Deputy Director General, South Asia Department (SARD); V.N. Gnanathurai, Country Director, Afghanistan Resident Mission; and Frank Polman, Senior Advisor, SARD.

On 14 March 2004, the team accompanied project financiers and senior Afghan officials to inspect the progress of the road repairs. The team traveled by plane to Kandahar and by vehicle along about 30 km of the road from the Kandahar airport.

Although satisfied with the project’s progress so far, the team was concerned that the recent deterioration in security in the area in the past few months would impede progress of the construction.

Mr. Jin said that once completed, this road link will serve to revitalize the Afghan private sector by improving opportunities for trade and commerce between Afghanistan and its neighbors. Travel time from Kandahar to Spin Boldak has already been reduced by almost half, to 1.5 hours. Improved road and infrastructure will also promote greater physical and political integration within the country, he said.

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