FARAH, AFGHANISTAN- A new Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) branch recently opened in Farah funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Provincial Reconstruction Team Quick Impact Program.

 

A new Da Afghanistan Bank (DAB) branch recently opened in Farah funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Provincial Reconstruction Team Quick Impact Program. The new branch will provide expanded services for government expenditure disbursements, including direct salary payments to central and provincial government staff. It will begin with payments to the Afghan National Police and Afghan National Army, eventually expanding services to other government departments.

 

The new building in Farah will provide improved payment transfers and disbursement services to the Government of Afghanistan in a modern, secure, and automated bank environment. Previously, the Farah DAB branch was operating in a rented office, with no secure vault storage, no proper banking hall or teller stations, and no dedicated disbursement areas to accommodate a growing level of payment activity. The bank will directly benefit over 200,000 people within close proximity who will be able to make direct tax payments to the national government.

 

The facility, completed in October 2006 by Bearing Point, employed 84 local workers during the construction of the bank, including 28 women and 38 demobilized workers. The total cost of the construction was $281,235.