Sunday, August 16, 2020
Kabul (BNA) Samangan officials and representatives of the Afghan-German Cooperation inaugurated a reconstructed 3.8-kilometer long road in the northern province on Friday.
The new asphalt road connects Aybak city to Dara-e Zhowandon village and with the Mazar-e Sharif to Kabul Highway.
More than 22,000 citizens will benefit from the improved infrastructure, which was financed by the Afghan-German Cooperation’s Regional Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). The road cost AFN 94 million.
Samangan’s Provincial Governor, Dawod Kalakani, said on Friday: “Today, I am very proud with the inauguration of this important road. We strongly support the continuation of German Cooperation activities.” He said he hoped other roads in Aybak City will also benefit from this program.
The newly asphalted road enables easier mobility between Aybak and the districts of Khuram-wa-Sarbagh and Roy-e-Doab as well as to Mazar-e Sharif, north-eastern provinces and Kabul.
This allows for residents to benefit from improved access to schools, local agricultural markets, health centers, nearby districts and provinces, and it aims to stimulate economic growth and improve the locals’ overall living conditions.
Zikrullah Nazari, the provincial director of Samangan’s road management agency said: “I would like to thank the technical support and advice of RIDF engineers during the implementation of the project for increasing the capacity of our staff.
“We are willing to implement more projects with their cooperation so that in the future we can execute projects independently. We are committed and will maintain and take care of the newly built road.”
The road between Aybak and Dara-e Zhowandon village and the road connection with the Mazar-e-Sharif to Kabul Highway is now equipped with highly visible pavement markings, specific traffic lanes, and traffic signs.
It also has gravel shoulders, allowing pedestrians to walk along the roadside safely. The drainage systems have been improved, protecting the road from drainage overflow and flooding, and the reconstruction, which took 18 months, created 300 jobs for the duration of the project.
