WASHINGTON - Kabul Mayor Mohammad Younis Nawandish has sought help from the World Bank (WB) for key infrastructure projects in the capital city, including housing, road and landfill site.
One big challenge is the development of Kabul City, Nawandish told Pajhwok Afghan News in an interview, during his stay in Washington. Besides meeting World Bank staff, the mayor also held talks with Obama administration officials.
"We are seeking assistance from the World Bank for eight projects in Kabul. Some of these projects are funded by the World Bank," he said. Right now the bank is funding a 12.5 km road in the city. Another 63-km road has been studied and designed.
"Our request was to start the construction of these projects," he said. Prominent among them is the housing sector, landfill site and transfer station and financial management.
One of the biggest problems in Kabul is the housing problem, which is mainly due to the influx of people that the city has experienced post-9/11 when the Taliban were thrown out of power.
Over the past nine years, about four million people have moved to Kabul. "We have asked the World Bank to give us money to start the construction of these houses. Through this project, we want to encourage the private sector in a big way," the mayor said.
Noting he had received a positive response, Nawandish said the World Bank needed to study the projects before approving them. A senior World Bank official would soon visit Kabul to hold talks with city officials in this regard.
"One of the biggest challenges is to rebuild infrastructure, in particular the road. The Kabul road was planned for 30,000 vehicles, but right now, there are 600,000 vehicles. Because of this we need to rebuild all the destroyed roads and construct new ones," the mayor continued.
The official said he was also working on building the drainage system and canals in the city. "Sanitation is one of the biggest problems. We need enough machinery and capacity to transfer garbage from the city to the landfill. I have requested World Bank to build four transfer stations and one landfill," he concluded. (Pajhwok)