Afghanistan Times
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AT-KABUL: Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) signed contracts of ten projects including construction of streets, asphalting and graveling of roads, bridges, laboratories as well as protection and maintenance of roads.
The acting minister of public works Noor Gul Mangal signed the contracts with representatives of private firms in here on Wednesday.
Mangal said the projects would be implemented in six provinces including Farah, Jawzjan, Daikundi, Kabul, Sar-e Pul and Badakhshan. Total cost of the projects was estimated $8.6 million, provided by the World Bank. The projects are part of the National Rural Development Program.
The National Rural Development Program was founded in 2002 under the framework of the ministry of public works with financial support of the World Bank. Till date around 2,000km streets were asphalted and graveled, 4500m bridges and eight airports had been constructed in different provinces of the country. These projects cost approximately $350 million, provided by the World Bank, he said.
The acting minister said that several uplift schemes are on the cards that would be implemented in different parts of the country next year.
Different developmental projects in various provinces were completed by several ministries in the past decade but majority of the projects failed to benefit the locals for long due to poor quality.
Muhammad Hassan Sharifi Balkhabi, an MP from Sar-e-Pul Province, criticized the government for failure to initiate optimum quality projects. “Due to poor maintenance and quality, many roads, bridges and streets are damaged now. The donations were not spent transparently and on productive projects,” he said.
He urged the government to ensure international standards are followed before projects are completed.
