PRT/QAL I NOW: RING ROAD IN BADGHIS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 002291

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/22/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER ASEC ECON EAID KCRS ELTN SP
TU, AF
SUBJECT: PRT/QAL I NOW: RING ROAD IN BADGHIS

REF: KABUL 2214

Classified By: POLITICAL COUNSELOR FOR REASONS 1.4 (B) AND (D)


1. (C) SUMMARY: The Spanish Agency for International
Cooperation (AECI) recently began construction of a road from
the Sabsak pass, on the border between Herat and Badghis
provinces, to Qal I Now, the capital of Badghis. This
stretch will form part of the Afghanistan Ring Road. A
95-kilometer segment from Qal I Now to Bala Murghab, also in
Badghis, and a 32-kilometer stretch in Herat, are the only
parts of the Ring Road either not built or without
international commitments for construction. Post is working
with Amembassy Madrid to encourage Spain to do more in road
building efforts (reftel). END SUMMARY.


2. (U) The Afghanistan Ring Road, when completed, will
circumscribe the center of the country and will be 2,227
kilometers in length. According to Dr. Rasooli, Deputy
Minister of Public Works in charge of roads, 1500 kilometers
have now been built. There are international commitments to
build the remainder, with the exception of 32 kilometers in
Herat province and 95 kilometers in Badghis.


3. (U) With no good roads to adjacent provinces, Qal I Now
and Badghis province have suffered relative economic
isolation. Until improvement and asphalting last year of a
61-kilometer, Iranian-financed stretch of the Ring Road
between Herat and Armalek, 43 kilometers from the Sabsak pass
on the border between Herat and Badghis, travel between Qal I
Now and Herat, a distance of 150 kilometers, took more than
eight hours. Travel time is now about five hours. When the
Spanish PRT was established in May 2005, Spanish development
officials identified an improved road linking Herat and Qal I
Now as a prerequisite to Badghis development. Spanish
engineers designed a 58-kilometer road from Qal I Now to the
Sabsak pass, to be built with AECI funds, on and adjacent to
the existing dirt road. There are no plans as yet for
improvements of the road between Armalek and Sabsak, which
would be the last stretch of unimproved road between Herat
and Qal I Now.


4. (U) Spanish development personnel presented plans for the
Qal I Now-Sabsak road to Badghis authorities last year. The
Spanish at that time had no communication with Ministry of
Public Works officials in Kabul; they assumed their plans
would be forwarded to Kabul by Badghis officials. Until a
meeting with Dr. Rasooli in March, they were unaware this
stretch of road was part of the Afghan master plan for the
Ring Road. Dr. Rasooli also informed them that their project
does not meet Ring Road specifications which call for an
asphalted road 7 meters in width with at least 1 1/2
meter-wide shoulders. The un-asphalted Spanish road will be
6 meters wide with 1 meter shoulders.


5. (U) The Spanish began construction of the Qal I
Now-Sabsak road in March, shortly after meeting with Dr.
Rasooli, using their original plans. Widening the road would
have required removal of a number of houses that abut the
road; further AECI has not allocated sufficient funds to
asphalt it. Development officials told Dr. Rasooli that,
should funds become available, they would consider improving
it to Ring Road standards. Spanish officials maintain that

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with the construction to Spanish specifications, the road
will be useable by all types of traffic throughout the year.
(Comment: Because of inadequate maintenance and higher than
expected traffic, many of the more robust asphalt roads built
by donors throughout the country are experiencing substantial
wear and may soon be in need of improvements. Embassy and
AID officials do not believe that an un-asphalted road will
last very long. End Comment.)


6. (U) The 95-kilometer Ring Road segment from Qal I Now to
Bala Murghab and the 32-kilometer segment from Armalek to
Sabsak are the only remaining parts of the Ring Road without
international funding commitments. In conversations with
Ambassador Neumann, Spanish Foreign Minister Moratinos and
Spanish Ambassador to Afghanistan Turpin have indicated GoS
interest in collaborating with the U.S. and possibly Turkey
on funding and building the road from Qal I Now to Bala
Murghab. However, according to AECI, which normally
coordinated international development funding commitments,
Spain has no plans for road building in Afghanistan other
than the Qal I Now-Sabsak road now under construction. Dr.
Rasooli told us he is anxious to find funding for the
Armalek-Sabsak and Qal I Now-Bala Murghab segments of the
Ring Road and is working with the Ministry of Finance to find
donors.


7. (C) Comment: Completion of the Qal I Now-Sabsak stretch
will cut driving time between Qal I Now and Herat
substantially and facilitate commerce between Herat and
Badghis provinces. The Spanish project has drawn high
interest from Badghis residents; many are upset that the road
will not be asphalted as is the Iranian-built portion of the
Ring Road between Herat and Armalek. Embassy and AID
officials agree that the unasphalted road will wear rapidly.
Post is working with the Spanish Ambassador Turpin and
Embassy Madrid to develop a bureaucratic strategy to gain
additional Spanish funds to build additional road networks.
End Comment.
NEUMANN