MRRD executes 108m projects in 3 months

KABUL): The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development implemented more than 3,000 public welfare projects this year, with the international community committed to assisting it post 2014, an official said on Tuesday.

Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development Wais Ahmad Barmak told a press conference in Kabul the schemes included infrastructure development projects, construction of schools, clinics, bridges, retaining walls and drinking water supply.

The projects, costing $108 million, were funded by the ministry in villages and towns, benefitting tens of thousands of families, he said, putting the MRRD budget for the current year at $344 million.

He added 44 percent of the budget had already been spent, a figure that could jump to over 50 percent as a result of new contracts over the next two weeks.

Barmak explained that the development schemes executed during the first quarter of the Afghan year included alternative livelihood and capacity-building projects. More uplift schemes in over 2,300 villages of 250 districts are underway.

He announced an additional $70 million project, aimed to address essential public needs, would be launched soon. But he did not provide more information about the big-time project.

Barmak said the international community was willing to fund infrastructure development projects in Afghanistan after 2014, when all foreign combat troops are scheduled to leave the country. Foreign donors would support the ministry until 2016 and beyond.

The National Solidarity Programme (NSP) had been one of the flagship projects of the ministry over the past decade, he remarked. The NSP covers villages and towns, with 10 percent of the project cost contributed by people.

mud

Visits: 9