Ministry of Public Work of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan has started the reconstruction work on Kandahar – Zabul road. It says with starting the reconstruction work on Kabul – Herat highway, work on the reconstruction of Kandahar – Zabul road has been started.
A spokesperson of the ministry of public work in an interview with The Kabul Times correspondent said the Kandahar – Zabul road would be reconstructed with the budget provided by the IEA.
“Ministry of Public Work is planning to contract the rest parts of the 900kg road with the private sector to start reconstruction work on it,” said Mawlavi Hamidullah Misbah, the MoPW spokesperson.
He added that the ministry was making effort to first complete the incomplete road projects in the country, saying that reconstruction work on Kabul – Kandahar and Kandahar – Herat roads with dozens of bridges have been among the projects on which reconstruction work was underway.
Reconstruction of Kabul – Herat and Salang are in top priorities of the ministry of public work. According to the MoPW spokesperson, reconstruction work on Zabul – Kandahar road, the budget of which has been provided by the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, has been started and the work is underway.
Based on information of the ministry of public work, the remaining work on incomplete projects will be followed by roads maintenance department of the ministry.
Pointing to some roads that have been damaged due to recent flash floods in the country, Mawlavi Hamidulah said the ministry of public work has been making effort to first reopen those roads that have been blocked or damaged due to recent natural incidents and then to reconstruct them as soon as possible.
“Parts of Kabul – Jalalabad road that have been washed away and blocked due to recent flash floods have been cleaned and reopened. Besides, Panjshir, Nuristan and Paktia roads that have been also blocked due to the floods have been now reopened,” the MoPW spokesperson said, adding that small bridges that have been partially damaged due to recent natural incidents have been now repaired and reopened to traffic.
Meanwhile, Afghan economists by pointing to the importance of roads in Afghanistan say roads can provide facilities for people to go from one place to another; therefore, roads can play vital role in economic development, political, security and sociality stability in the country.
“Undoubtedly having good roads is considered as one of the key issues in a country, but unfortunately Afghanistan does not have standard roads and those existed have been damaged due to insecurities or natural incidents,” said Baryalai, an Afghan economical expert.
He hoped the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) could allocate budget for the reconstruction and construction of roads in the country.
“Although reconstruction of road requires lots of budget, it is hoped the IEA can find budget for construction and reconstruction of the country’s highways and roads,” Baryalai said, adding that the IEA particularly the ministry of public work should focus much on construction of ring roads that are effective for transit of trade goods. It is worth mentioning that roads can play a vital role in progress and development of a country as roads can connect cities and tighten communications among the people.
Shukria Kohistani
