3 November 2010 - Local residents of Daman district in Kandahar province are confident that the recently launched eight-kilometre road construction project will improve their local economy.

The road is being constructed by the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) at a total cost of 8,804,295 Afghanis. It will be completed in “approximately” four months.

Daman district is known for producing mouth-watering melons and watermelons for Kandahar province and rest of the country.

The local residents believe that once the road is paved, they would be able to transport their melons and watermelons to the local market without these getting spoiled.

“Our fruits were spoiled due to bad road conditions, so they lost their price value in the local market. With better road conditions, we can easily transport our products to local markets where we can sell these at good prices. This will increase our harvest and will boost our local economy,” said one of the residents from Daman district.

More than 6,656 people will benefit from the road project funded by the Canadian Government and implemented by the MRRD under the National Development Programme (NDP), an initiative earlier launched jointly by MRRD and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in 2002.

The NDP is designed to eliminate poverty and provide better living conditions to communities.

Kandahar City Mayor Mr Ghulam Haider Hamidi also informed farmers and media of the planned construction of a large and modern fruit market in the city.

“We are planning to build a modern and large fruit market in the North of the city where farmers can bring their fruits and vegetables for sale,” Mayor Hamidi told media correspondents at the Kandahar media centre.

There are several other projects ongoing in Kandahar city and in other areas.

A 10-megawatt power plant has been installed at the industrial park in Kandahar to provide electricity to factories which earlier shut down due to the shortage of electricity in the province.

Another 10-megawatt power supply project is already in the pipeline and is expected to be ready within two to three months.

“The generators will have the capacity to provide 20 megawatts of power both for the industrial zone and Kandahar citizens. This will provide job opportunities for the local population aside from providing electricity,” Kandahar Governor Dr Toryali Wesa told the local media.

By Mujeeb Rahman, UNAMA