18 October 2010 - The asphalting of 103 kilometres of the Keshim-Faizabad Road in Badakhshan has brought prosperity and happiness to residents as it has improved access to medical care, education and the local markets of this remote north-eastern province.

This road-improvement project of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has also cut down travel time from Badakhshan to Kabul city to only around 12 hours. It used to take travellers at least two days to traverse this dirt road that was part of the ancient Silk Route from the Mediterranean Sea to the Far East.

“A bus trip between Faizabad and Kabul used to take at least two days and, by road asphalting, the travel time has been reduced to twelve hours or less,” said Khudaidad, manager of the Yaftal Transportation Private Sector in Faizabad.

“I have been driving more than ten years between Kunduz, Takhar and Faizabad. We have experienced very bad days – the frequent floods and mudslides had reduced the road – and we were waiting for hours, even nights, for the road to be repaired and opened,” said Asadullah, a driver in Faizabad.

The construction and repair of roads such as the Keshim-Faizabad Road provide many social and economic benefits to residents. Mohammad Husain, who has been working as a labourer since 2007, earns US$ 5 in daily wages from the road-repair project and he is happy to support his family with his income.

The project provides job opportunities to hundreds of the local population like Mr Husain and helps improve family and household incomes.

“I came from Taloqan. We had a very comfortable travel and I paid Afs 400, a reasonable fare comparing to the fare before the road asphalting,” said Ikramuddin, a passenger who travelled to Faizabad.

The reconstruction of the Keshim-Faizabad Road is contributing to the local economic growth.

“We now pay only Afs 20 per seven kilos to transport our goods from Kabul to Faizabad. The rate has been reduced by 50 per cent, comparing to previous years,” said Abdul Ahmad, one of the shopkeepers in Faizabad. “Of course, when we pay less, we also sell our goods at a more reasonable price,” he added.

The USAID-funded Keshim-Faizabad Road Project will cost a total of approximately US$ 130 million when completed. A part of the Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Programme, it is seen as a vital link in the Afghan Government’s ambitious plan to construct a two-lane road to the international border with China.

By Shamsuddin Hamedi, UNAMA