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U.S. AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT
PRESS RELEASE
WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
(202) 712-43202002-115
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 7, 2002Contact: USAID Press Office
Kabul, Afghanistan -- Today, U.S. government officials, including Frederick W. Schieck, Deputy Administrator for the U.S. Agency for International Development, announced the award of a multi-million dollar infrastructure development contract to the Louis Berger Group, taking another major step toward rebuilding Afghanistan's national infrastructure.
When meeting with Afghan President Hamid Karzai on September 12, 2002, President George Bush pledged $80 million in U.S. support to rebuild the road linking Kabul through Kandahar to Herat, in partnership with Japan and Saudi Arabia. All U.S. funds are subject to Congressional approval. This and other infrastructure projects are essential to revitalizing this country and creating a corridor of development.
"We'll help develop a modern infrastructure so that Afghan entrepreneur will be able to move product from one city to the next, and so that people will be able to find work, they'll be able to put food on the table," pledged President Bush.
"This is another major step in rebuilding Afghanistan's infrastructure. USAID is undertaking many important activities including irrigation, agriculture, and repairing schools, health facilities, municipal facilities and more," said Deputy Administrator Schieck, "but road reconstruction is one of the most important."
Afghan President Hamid Karzai has stated that reconstruction of the country's principle road system is key to Afghanistan's economic recovery. The journey from Kabul to Herat, about 600 miles, is an arduous trip that currently takes several days because much of the road surface and several bridges have been destroyed.
At the Tokyo Pledging Conference in January, 2002, the United States, Japan, Saudi Arabia and other donor nations pledged $4.5 billion in overall reconstruction funding. Rebuilding the transportation infrastructure enables the movement of people, aid resources, farm goods and trade goods, all essential to Afghanistan's development.
As the project manager, the Louis Berger Group will be responsible for the design and construction supervision of the road and a variety of other infrastructure projects. This project will generate significant employment for local laborers and contractors. The road is scheduled for completion in approximately 36 months. Initial survey work has already been completed and design work is expected to begin by mid-October.
U.S. Agency for International Development is the government agency that has provided humanitarian assistance and economic development worldwide for more than 40 years.
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