Afghan officials study Indian and East African road maintenance

For Immediate Release

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Kabul, Afghanistan – Two delegations of Afghan transportation officials completed study tours to India, Kenya and Tanzania to gain a better understanding of how road maintenance institutions were developed and have improved transportation infrastructure in those countries, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) announced on Tuesday. The study tours were part of a USAID project to help Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works (MoPW) develop a sustainable approach to road maintenance in Afghanistan.

Fourteen officials from MoPW and the Ministry of Finance (MoF) returned from a nine-day study tour to Kenya and Tanzania February 15, and a second group of 13 MoPW and MoF officials returned from a 10-day trip to India March 9.

The USAID-funded Road Sector Sustainability Program (RSSP) will help MoPW create three new agencies: a Road Authority to oversee maintenance and construction; a Road Fund to provide financing; and a Transportation Institute to establish maintenance standards and train staff. The value of this three-year component of RSSP is $21.4 million. Other areas of RSSP focus on supporting MoPW’s emergency operations and maintenance efforts and building its capacity to operate and maintain Afghanistan’s road network.

“By seeing first-hand how a road authority, road fund and transportation institute operate, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Public Works will be better able to implement these institutions in Afghanistan,” said William Hammink, USAID Mission Director.  

RSSP focuses on reforming and restructuring Afghanistan’s road sector through sustainable revenue sources, private sector contractors, business leaders and government authorities.

Since 2002, USAID has invested over $2 billion in Afghanistan’s road network by building or rehabilitating over 2,000 kilometers of roads. Recently, USAID has shifted emphasis from construction to supporting the Afghan government’s ability to operate and maintain a modern road network.