KABUL, AFGHANISTAN- The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently provided the Government of Afghanistan with an additional $10 million in assistance for diesel fuel procurement.

 

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) recently provided the Government of Afghanistan with an additional $10 million in assistance for diesel fuel procurement. This will provide Kabul, Kandahar, and Lashkar Gah with power into November, 2006. The diesel procurement process is now in the hands of the Government of Afghanistan, which is currently locating necessary funding to provide for the further purchase of diesel fuel until the end of the Afghan Fiscal Year in March 2007.

 

Electricity is a necessary part of the rebuilding process for Afghanistan. The years of war and drought have severely affected the energy sector. The power systems that survived are aging and not sufficient to meet the needs of the country.

 

Since November 2003, USAID has funded $131.1 million to Afghanistan for diesel fuel procurement. The current strategy of USAID is shifting from emergency diesel procurement support to major construction work in the power sector. Building the energy infrastructure of Afghanistan is a steady, lengthy process and will not happen overnight.

 

USAID, working together with the Government of Afghanistan and other international donors, has begun a number of important projects that will bring new and larger systems of electric power production to Afghanistan. Several projects are in various stages of development with the goal to bring electricity to the population of Afghanistan, but they are complex and will take time and patience. There are no shortcuts, but stable electrical power is important for economic and industrial growth, education, and to improve the lives of the people of Afghanistan.