KABUL - The Afghan government will build small airports in remote districts of the country to address the transport problems to these areas, Aviation Minister Dawood Ali Najafizada said Monday.
Aside from the poor state of the roads, the winter months render the roads almost impassable with the snow and ice, making it difficult to get emergency goods and services some areas, he said.
The Ministry of Transport and Aviation will build the small airports in districts of Badakhshan, Ghazni and Ghor provinces for the residents who are most affected by the lack of access.

"Districts such as Arghestan of Badakhshan, Jaghori of Ghazni and Lahl wa Sarjangal district of Ghor province are the remote districts, we plan to start the work in the near future," Najafizada said, however he did not mention the exact time of the start of work or the cost of the projects.

Head of the Senate economics committee Abdul Wahab Urfan welcomed the plan and said that the Ministry should ensure the airports were constructed with all necessary facilities and to standard.

"It's necessary for the Ministry of Transport and Aviation officials to priorities the provinces and build the airports according to their needs in order to tackle the problem of road blockages," Urfan said.

The construction of these airports are expected to help provide emergency relief services during the cold winters and the flashfloods of spring as the roads to such area are often closed or destroyed due to heavy snowfall, landslides or the demolition of bridges and roads in floods.

Residents of remote districts have often complained about the delay of aid to these areas at times of crisis. (Tolo News)