Several projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) will create hundreds of jobs in a number of provinces for Afghan citizens in the coming months and contribute to the country’s economic development.

In Kunar, a project to clean, widen, and reconstruct the Salar Canal will create approximately 300 local jobs for laborers, foremen, skilled masons, and female cooks from the local communities.

The Salar Canal, the largest in the Kunar province, is 24-kilometers long and runs through three districts. The $600,000 project has the approval of the local shura council and will be ongoing for the next 10 months.

Another project starting next week in Kunar will employ hundreds of people to help clean trash and refuse throughout the province.

Two other projects under the USAID’s Food Insecurity Response for Urban Populations Program (FIRUP) are also expected to create hundreds of jobs in Ghor and Zabul.

The FIRUP projects support community-level involvement through cash-for-work programs that improve city infrastructure, support community development priorities, and offer temporary employment.  Wages earned through these public and community works projects enable the urban poor to purchase food and other necesssities for themselves and their families. 

In Ghor, the cash-for-work program will build 10 culverts in central Chaghcharan to provide improved access to town’s streets. The $20,000 project is expected to create 70 jobs for skilled and non-skilled workers who will be employed for 15 to 30 days.

In Zabul, the cash-for-work program in Qalat city will provide similar work opportunities for many residents.

“Creating employment opportunities for the people of Afghanistan is one of the main priorities with our development projects in the country,” said USAID Mission Director William M. Frej.  “These projects not only improve the communities, they improve the lives of the residents in those provinces.”