From the American People
The Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Program (IRP) is improving and expanding Afghanistan’s power and transportation infrastructure. Over the life of the program, this project has provided technical and executive direction as well as administrative support to more than 25 projects in the transport, energy, and construction sectors. This work includes providing helicopter services to reach the project sites; project monitoring services, including evaluations and baseline studies to measure project impact; and strategic communications to highlight successes. USAID also uses specialized services on a quick-response basis to meet emergency requests for assistance from the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan (GIRoA). For example, IRP provided such assistance to study power needs in the volatile south of the country to assist in project planning.
Kishim to Fayzabad Road (February 2007-July 2010)Historically, the 103-km Kishim to Fayzabad Road in Badakhshan Province was part of the ancient Silk Road from the Mediterranean Sea to the Far East. Today, the road is a vital link in the Afghan Government’s ambitious plans to construct a two-lane highway to the international border with China. However, before the road rehabilitation project began, this important route was a primitive, variable-width dirt road with a limited number of poorly maintained drainage structures. Additionally, frequent floods and mudslides due to earthquakes, rain, and snow had contributed greatly to the deterioration of the road. USAID undertook the reconstruction of the road in 2009 to meet the requirements set forth in the 2005 Ministry of Public Works Interim Road and Highway Standards. A late 2009 evauation of this road project showed that the number of new businesses more than doubled (such as fuel stations and markets), passenger bus activity increased, and prices in markets fell.
Reconstruction of the Gardez to Khost Road (May 2007-October 2010)USAID is building an all-weather paved asphalt road of approximately 101 kilometers, beginning from the traffic circle in the city center of Gardez to the city of Khost in eastern Afghanistan. The project will also repair or replace bridges and drainage structures to ensure the integrity of the road year round. The current condition of the Gardez-Khost Road is a combination of unimproved roadway to partially graveled or paved surfaces. Overloaded trucks and a poorly designed road have caused extensive damage over many years of constant use. The existing road is not well maintained and is often flooded by spring run-off and localized rainstorms that make the road impassable. Upon completion, this road will be a natural extension of the Kabul-to-Ghazni road completed by USAID in 2006 and link to the Ghazni-Gardez road that USAID began to reconstruct in early 2010, thus providing a Western-standard road from Kabul into the heart of Khost province near the border with Pakistan. The road will promote economic growth through cross-border trade to businesses and residents along this entire corridor.
Design of Bamyan and Dushi Road (June 2009-December 2010)The U.S. Government is currently designing an upgraded road from the city of Bamyan in Bamyan Province to Dushi in Baghlan Province. The Ministry of Public Works of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has categorized the Bamyan-Dushi Road as a national highway. It is a strategically important road because it provides an alternate route for travel between the north and central provinces of Afghanistan, allowing traffic to avoid the Salang Pass. The Salang Pass subjects all northbound and southbound traffic to considerable time delays during the winter months. In its present condition the Bamyan-Dushi Road is virtually impassable during the winter months and, even during summer, is a very slow and arduous detour. The upgraded Bamyan-Dushi Road will provide a year-round alternative between Kabul and the provinces in the north and facilitate local travel in Bamyan and Baghlan provinces.
Design and Construction of Two Uruzgan Bridges (October 2009-December 2010)Project scope involves design and construction of two bridges at Regak and Oshay across the Shakur and Helmand Rivers, respectively, in northern Uruzgan province. Bridges replace bridges previously washed out by floods, and connect nearby villages to the rest of the province to the south. Both bridges will consist of concrete piers and abutments with a one-lane, prefabricated steel superstructure in lengths of about 122 meters at Regak and 135 meters at Oshay. A preliminary steel footbridge across gaps in the old bridge at Regak is also in the scope of work, in order to provide access to the population and to assist security efforts during construction.
Roads Operation and Maintenance Capacity Building Program (November 2007-October 2010)Regular maintenance is essential to ensuring the continued safety and utility of recently reconstructed roads for the people of Afghanistan. The first objective of this program has been to develop and implement a performance-based contracting program for operations and maintenance activities of the 1,522 kilometers of roads built previously by USAID. This program has since been expanded to include operations and maintenance of roads initially built by the Asian Development Bank (ADB), and will eventually include a total of 1940 kms. of ADB roads. The second, longer-term objective of the Program is to develop a sustainable Road Management Entity or Highway Authority, which represents a long-term sustainable solution to financing and implementing a road operations and maintenance program. This project will ensure that GIRoA takes ownership of a governance approach to the transport sector that is based on international best practices. The goal is to provide an efficient transportation system that is sustainable and responds to the people of Afghanistan. Accomplishing this goal will promote economic growth, poverty reduction, and facilitate sustained development in Afghanistan.
Quick Response General Services (March 2009-August 2011)The Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Program’s quick response task orders address infrastructure project needs that are of short duration, limited scope, and require immediate action. Like regular task orders, quick-response task orders have separate, stand-alone budgets but fall outside the scope of existing task order authorizations. This mechanism was needed to cover the small-scale, unforeseen, recurring technical support activities that need to be addressed quickly in order to keep larger efforts moving forward. Both small-scale and recurring technical support activities can be considered quick response projects. Examples of services include geotechnical services, environmental assessments, technical studies, social assessments, economic studies, and bidder or contractor prequalification.
11 October 2010 | Kahmard District, Bamyan Province, Afghanistan
The shoes were the first indication. Tan lace-up boots, black rubber sandals, backless slippers, and penny loafers lined the blue canvas tarmac where almost 300...
23 September 2010 | Kishim, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
Kishim has long been a stopover for truckers and passengers exhausted from trips on nearly impassable roads in northeastern Afghanistan. Long-haul and delivery trucks crowded...
23 September 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Thousands of kilometers of rehabilitated provincial and rural roads have fallen into disrepair. Deteriorating roads make it more difficult for Afghans to access key services...
23 June 2010 | Fayzabad, Afghanistan
The new 103-kilometer road from Kishim to Fayzabad is bringing new business and investment to Badakhshan Province. Built through USAID’s Afghanistan Infrastructure Rehabilitation Project, the...
13 June 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Capacity building is a powerful tool for change. USAID is helping Afghans gain the skills to develop their country and pass on their expertise to...
6 June 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
When Abdullah Jan met Shabnam, they were seniors in the Engineering Department at Kabul University. They soon began to intern at the Kabul Central Materials...
4 May 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Women are a growing force in the Afghan workplace. To advance the role of women in society, the U.S. Government supports women entering into the...
6 March 2010 | Fayzabad, Badakhshan Province, Afghanistan
A bus trip between Kabul and Fayzabad in Badakhshan, Afghanistan’s northernmost province, used to take at least two days. Today, thanks to major road improvements,...
1 February 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Building the capacity of Afghanistan’s professionals is essential for Afghanistan’s successful future. USAID is committed to providing both development assistance and educational programs that will...
13 October 2009 | Gunbaz Balocha, Badakhshan, Afghanistan
Gunbaz Balocha village is located in remote Badakhshan province along the Kishim-Fayzabad Road. USAID is currently reconstructing the entire 103-km road, along with its bridges...
31 August 2010 | Tala wa Barfak, Afghanistan
The Bamyan-Dushi Road reopened in late July following months of repairing damage caused by severe spring floods in Tala wa Barfak District. USAID's Afghanistan Infrastructure...
15 July 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
In mid-June, senior level officials from the Afghan Government and leaders from the private sector gathered at a USAID-sponsored conference in India to hear innovative...
15 April 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
In early April, 23 engineering students from Afghan universities graduated from a USAID-sponsored internship program on road construction and maintenance. The hands-on program allows students...
15 April 2010 | Bamyan, Afghanistan
In many areas of Afghanistan, the roads in winter are almost impassable. On April 6, Afghan leaders in Bamyan applauded the USAID-sponsored winter maintenance program...
30 November 2009 | Kabul, Afghanistan
The series premier of On the Road, a USAID-sponsored national television program , aired on Tolo TV on November 21. Introducing a...
15 May 2009 | Fayzabad, Afghanistan
On April 19, 500 provincial authorities and community representatives attended a ceremony celebrating the beginning of asphalt paving of the Fayzabad section of the Kishim-Fayzabad...
30 November 2008 | Kabul, Afghanistan
Afghan businesses are taking responsibility for maintaining the country’s newly built roads. On October 27, USAID-partner Louis Berger Group awarded three contracts totaling US$12.6 million...
In The News
15 June 2010 | Kabul, Afghanistan
د طلوع تلویزیون د هی میدان-طی میدان پروګرام د لیدونکو په هکله د یوی سروی لمړنی موندنی نن خپاره شول چی وایی د ۳۵ سلنی...
امروز موسسه (Wise Strategic Communication) در همکاری با مساعدت اداره انکشافی بین المللی ایالات متحده(USAID) یافته های ابتدایی را از سروی تماشای برنامه (هی میدان...
Today, Wise Strategic Communication, with support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), released preliminary findings from a survey on the viewership of...
28 April 2008 | KABUL
به تاریخ 26 اپریل سال 2008، روز شنبه، جناب رئیس جمهور حامد کرزی و سفیر ایالات متحده امریکا، ویلیام بی. وود در محل انعقاد قرارداد اعمار 101 کیلومتر سرک که توسط اداره انکشافی بین المللی ایالات متحده (USAID) تمویل گردیده است و ولایات خوست و پکتیا را با سرک حلقوی و کابل وصل می نماید، اشتراک ورزیدند.
On Saturday, April 26, 2008, President Karzai and U.S. Ambassador William B. Wood witnessed the signing of a contract for the development of a 101 kilometer road funded by the United States Government through the Agency for International Development (USAID) that will connect Khost and Paktia provinces to the Ring Road and Kabul.
24 July 2006 | Kabul
کابل، افغانستان – بادرنظرداشت تقاضای دولت افغانستان جهت مرفوع ساختن نیازمندی های تخمیناً 2.5 میلیون شهروند افغانی که ممکن در نتیجه کمبود مواد غذائی امسال متأثر گردند، دولت ایالات متحده از طریق اداره انکشافی بین المللی امروز اعلام نمود که 20 میلیون دالر را به پروگرام جهانی غذا در افغانستان کمک خواهد نمود
Last updated 22 May 2013
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