Afghanistan Reconstruction Group Meeting
Address by
Tadao Chino
President
Asian Development Bank
26 September 2002
Washington, DC
Mr. Chairman, ladies and gentlemen,
I would like to take this opportunity to brief you about ADB's assistance program for Afghanistan. Let me first reiterate that we are honored by the important role that ADB has been assigned by the Steering Group and the Government of Afghanistan for the reconstruction of the country.
ADB's program for 2002 stands at $200 million of which up to $50 million will be grant assistance and $150 million in concessional loans from ADF resources.
Two TAs in a total amount of $15 million were approved in May this year. A TA for Capacity Building in an amount of $14.5 million and a TA for Disaster Preparedness for $0.5 million. The capacity building TA provides support for institution building and training in the transport, energy, financial, agriculture, environment, education and health sectors and for women affairs.
There are four activities scheduled for 2002 to be funded from the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction (JFPR): one project in the education sector ($4 million) was approved in July and a $15 million project for reconstruction of the Kandahar-Spin-Boldak road and refugee assistance in the area is expected to be approved next week. Road rehabilitation works will commence by December. Road rehabilitation is indeed a top priority for the recovery and development of the country and is all the more urgent as refugees are returning in ever-larger numbers. In this connection I would like to welcome the recently announced initiative by USA, Japan and Saudi Arabia to jointly finance $180 million for the Kandahar Kabul road. The two other JFPR funded projects I referred to earlier are in the health and irrigation sectors totaling $6 million and are expected to be approved in two months.
We are also processing two loans from our concessional window, The Asian Development Fund, a $150 million post conflict multi-sector program loan and an emergency infrastructure rehabilitation loan of also $150 million. These loans are being prepared so that concessional funds can be provided quickly once the Government of Afghanistan reaches a decision to borrow.
The Program Loan which supports the Transitional Government's National Development Framework (NDF), is envisaged to enhance opportunities for economic revival by addressing key policy and institutional constraints to the efficient functioning of the financial, transport and energy sectors within a transparent and accountable governance structure. The Program is structured in a manner that it provides the Government with additional resources for meeting recurrent cost and other budget expenditures. The Program Loan is ready for Board consideration in December and will be disbursed in two tranches - $100 million in 2002 and $50 million in 2003.
In addition, an Emergency Infrastructure Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Project is being processed for consideration by ADB's Board in early 2003. The project loan will focus on rehabilitation of priority infrastructure, including national roads, petroleum storage facilities, irrigation schemes and civil aviation facilities. Road rehabilitation works under this project includes the northern part of the ring road - about 400 km from Pule Khomri via Mazar-i-Sharif to Shiberghan.
A sector development program for the social sectors including education and health will also be prepared in 2003 in the tentative amount of $50 million. Grant assistance in the tune of $40-50 million will also be provided in 2003.
In closing, I would like to commend the Government of Afghanistan for the considerable progress it has made in creating an conducive environment for political stability and socio-economic development. Let me assure you that ADB will continue to contribute to the international community's efforts in speedily reconstructing the country and providing security and livelihood for the people of Afghanistan.
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