SIGAR

ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT
City while turbine-installation work at Kajaki Dam was under way.
USFOR-A has six other ongoing power projects, while USAID has three, as
shown in Table 3.22 on page 172. 718
AIF projects use FY 2011–FY 2014 appropriated funds. No additional
AIF money was requested or appropriated, but up to $50 million from the
FY 2016 Afghanistan Security Forces Fund may be used under limited circumstances
to help finish existing projects. 719
Transportation
Afghanistan’s lack of transportation infrastructure hinders internal
commerce, foreign trade, and economic growth. The World Bank said
Afghanistan’s transportation-infrastructure shortcomings constrain the service
and agriculture sectors, which have typically been the leading drivers
of the economy. They also hold back the mining industry, future revenues
from which the Afghan government and international donor community are
hoping will offset declining international aid. 720
This quarter, the Afghan government made additional progress in establishing
regional connectivity. On October 30, 2016, Turkmenistan and
Afghanistan inaugurated a rail line connecting the Atamyrat-Imamnazar railway
in Turkmenistan to Aqina in Afghanistan. 721
Roads
Afghanistan has more than 76,400 miles of road, 28,000 of which have been
rehabilitated or improved. 722 Last quarter SIGAR auditors assessed the conditions
of approximately 1,020 miles of Afghanistan’s U.S.-funded national
and regional highways, and found that most were in need of repair and
maintenance. 723 The World Bank similarly reported that 85% of Afghanistan’s
roads are in poor shape; the majority cannot be used year-round. 724
Since 2002, USAID has provided more than $2 billion for more than 1,240
miles of road construction, operations and maintenance (O&M), and capacity-building
activities. 725 For its part, DOD provided at least $847 million on
4,687 road-related projects under the Commander’s Emergency Response
Program. Despite this investment, SIGAR auditors determined that USAID
and DOD have had only limited success in ensuring the long-term sustainability
of those roads. 726
Afghanistan does not currently have sufficient funding and technical
capacity to maintain its roads and highways, according to USAID.
Afghanistan is estimated to spend $17 million annually for O&M, but that
is $100 million less than the Asian Development Bank says is needed. 727
USAID told SIGAR it would cost an estimated $8.3 billion to replace
Afghanistan’s roads if they were not maintained. 728
Money aside, a USAID assessment from May 2015 found that the Ministry
of Public Works needed structural reform, citing ongoing critical weaknesses,
including a lack of skilled staff, poor communication, antiquated
The United Nations reported that the
Taliban is increasingly using improvised
explosive devices to disrupt economic and
social activity in Afghanistan, not only
beyond areas of direct conflict, but also on
economically important roads.
Source: UN, Report of the Analytical Support and Sanctions
Monitoring Team, 10/5/2016, pp. 3, 7.
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