AFGHANISTAN LAND TRANSPORT SECTOR PART 1:

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KABUL 000839

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SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958 N/A
TAGS: ECON EINV EAID ELTN ETRD AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN LAND TRANSPORT SECTOR PART 1:
OVERVIEW OF ROAD AND RAIL INFRASTRUCTURE

REF: A) KABUL 705, B) KABUL 782, C) KABUL 784


1. (SBU) Summary and Introduction: Construction on regional and
provincial roads is ongoing in Afghanistan with an estimated 5,000
km of roads constructed since 2001. The international community has
provided a total of USD 2.4 billion in aid for road construction.
The Ring Road is nearly complete, and all of the link roads to the
borders are complete. Japan expects to finish a portion of the Ring
Road in Kandahar and Helmand in May, and the Asian Development Bank
has given its Chinese contractor until the beginning of 2010 to
complete a 143 km stretch of the Ring Road in the Northeast. Two
hundred kilometers of the Ring Road from Herat to Qal-e Naw remain
unfunded. Provincial roads are poor and few are paved, especially
in the central provinces. The rail sector is slowly developing,
though rail construction is very costly. Iran has nearly completed
a 60 km rail link to Herat, and the Iranians and Chinese are rumored
to have agreed to develop a rail line linking the northeast
provinces to Herat. The Afghan government views rail development
favorably but is focused on developing a 12,000 km network of roads
in order to make Afghanistan a true transit hub for central Asia.
However, at the current construction cost of USD 1 million per
kilometer, such a network would cost an additional USD 7 billion.
This message is the first in a three-part series. Separate cables
address the economic impact and security challenges in the road
sector and future development of the road and rail sectors. End
Summary

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Status of Ring Road, Condition
of Provincial Roads
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2. (SBU) Construction of regional and provincial roads is ongoing
throughout Afghanistan. Roads are of varying quality, but for the
majority of Afghans, aside from the Ring Road, roads are unpaved.
Afghan officials and business leaders note that the lack of paved
roads and poor quality of existing roads contribute to highway
security problems, increase transport times, and hamper commercial
activity in general (septel). Numerous international donors have
contributed to Afghanistan's road network, either through direct
grants to the GIRoA (Saudi Arabia, Asian Development Bank (ADB),
World Bank, Japan, UAE, Iran),through PRTs (Germany, Italy, Spain),
or through private sector construction contracts (Turkey, China, US,
India). USAID alone has built 40 percent of all roads constructed
in Afghanistan since 2001. In a March 17 meeting, Deputy Minister
of Public Works (MPW) Rasooli told Econoff that between 2001 and
2008, the international community has provided in total USD 2.4
billion to construct and rehabilitate 5,000 km of roads, including
the Ring Road and the nine link roads from it to the international
borders.


3. (SBU) The 2,100 km Ring Road (RR) is nearly complete. The
portions remaining are a Japanese-funded 114 km stretch between
Kandahar and Lashkar Gah, an ADB-funded, Chinese-constructed 143 km
stretch linking Qal-e Naw to Maimana in the Northwest, and the still
unfunded, 200 km stretch between Herat and Qal-e Naw. On March 25,
the Japanese Economic Counselor told Econoff that the Japanese
portion of the RR will be completed by May, if security problems do
not further delay the project. In a February 28 meeting, an ADB
official told Econoff that the Chinese contractor has completed only
20 percent of the Qal-e Naw-Maimana road in part due to security
problems (reftel B). The nine link roads to Afghanistan's borders
are finished. MPW estimates that construction of the RR has had
tremendous effect on trade and travel times (septel). However,
without the remaining 200 km stretch in the Northwest, the RR is
unable to fully perform its intended role as the backbone of
Afghanistan's transportation system and the principal ground conduit
for national and international passenger and freight traffic.


4. (SBU) Deputy Minister Rasooli said that the Government of the
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan's (GIRoA) priorities under the
Afghan National Development Strategy (ANDS) are to complete the Ring
Road, develop provincial roads, and expand north-south and east-west
links across Afghanistan to facilitate transit trade. Rasooli
believes Afghanistan needs a network of 12,000 km of roads in order
for Afghanistan to fulfill its potential as a transit hub for the
region. However, Rasooli noted, the cost of road construction has

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increased dramatically. Since 2001, road construction costs have
increased from USD 60,000 to USD 1 million per kilometer. Rasooli
told Econoff that it will take 12-15 years for construction of such
an extensive network and, if the cost of road construction remains
at USD 1 million per kilometer, the GIRoA will need an additional
USD 7 billion to fund construction. (NOTE: Rasooli's estimate
excludes the additional funding needed for maintenance. Currently
MPW has a budget of USD 30-35 million for road construction. END
NOTE)

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Provincial Roads: Mediocre At Best
**********************************


5. (SBU) Anecdotal reports from U.S. PRT representatives note that
provincial roads are a) a priority of the local population and their
leaders and b) in generally dismal shape. Herat's governor has told
PRT officials that asphalting provincial roads, particularly from
Herat to Cheste Sherif to the Salma dam project, are a high priority
for security, commerce, and development needs of Herat province. In
central Afghanistan roads remain among the most basic infrastructure
needs. PRT representatives report that road networks in Bamyan and
Dai Kundi provinces are extremely poor and are the single most
important bottleneck for economic development in the central
highlands. Currently, there are no paved roads in Ghor and Dai
Kundi provinces. Bamyan province has a total of only 3.7 km of
paved roads. PRT Bamyan representatives report that the poor state
of roads makes travel in either Bamyan or Dai Kundi provinces time
consuming and punishing for both vehicles and passengers. Currently
the 100-mile drive from Kabul to Bamyan takes about eight hours.
The main routes to Kabul and Herat through the central provinces are
single lane, dirt tracks that are in extreme states of disrepair.
The Dai Kundi chief of police has told U.S. PRT representatives that
even in the summer when roads are passable, it takes over 14 hours
to drive from the provincial capital of Nili to some of the outlying
districts located only 30 kilometers or so away.

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Developing a Rail Sector;
Iranian and Chinese Investment
******************************


6. (SBU) Afghanistan does not have an operating rail sector, though
there is great interest in developing rail as an alternative to road
travel, particularly for freight. Iran has reportedly nearly
completed a 60 km rail link from the border crossing point of Islam
Qala to Herat (ref A). Latest estimates from PRT Herat indicate
that the Iranian government has invested USD 50 million in the
project. The Afghan portion leading into Herat city has not begun.
There is also a rumor that the Iranian and Chinese governments
agreed at the Economic Cooperation Organization Summit in Tehran in
early March to jointly fund a rail link from Sher Khan Bander in
Kunduz province to Herat (ref C). In the meeting with Econoff,
Deputy Minister Rasooli was cagey in addressing the current state of
rail cooperation with Iran and future Iranian investment.


7. (SBU) In addition, as part of the Aynak copper mine development
project, Chinese contractor China Star is scheduled to construct a
700 km railroad connecting the northeastern border with Tajikistan
at Sher Khan Bander to Torkham at the Pakistan border in Nangarhar
province (reftel C). Deputy Minister Rasooli told Econoff that the
Chinese contractor is considering an alternate route for the Aynak
railway, starting in Hairatan at the Uzbek-Afghan border rather than
Sher Khan Bander. On March 18, the Chinese Economic Counselor told
Econoff that China has no preference for building at Hairatan over
Sher Khan Bander and that they await the results of a feasibility
study. Rasooli estimates that it will cost USD 2 million per
kilometer to build the 450-600 km railway to Torkham. Rasooli
strongly supports the Aynak rail construction and believes that the
Chinese will follow through with the terms of the contract. Rasooli
told Econoff that he believes that rail construction is the future
of overland transport because there is less maintenance for rail
once it is built.


8. (SBU) COMMENT: With the help of numerous international partners,
the GIRoA is well on its way to establishing a road network that
fully links Afghanistan to neighboring countries. The missing 200

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km stretch of the Ring Road in the Northwest is a concern; security
problems in that area as well as a lack of agreement with donors
have prevented MPW from moving ahead with construction plans.
However, we anticipate that either the ADB or some other donor will
eventually pick up the cost of this stretch.

RICCIARDONE