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KABUL, Afghanistan, Oct. 23, 2006 – The United States has awarded $94 million to seven Afghan firms to build or improve road and water distribution systems in six Afghan provinces.
The funds, awarded Oct. 19, will help build more than 390 kilometers of roads in Kandahar, Uruzgan, Nuristan, Kunar, Paktika and Ghazni provinces and establish water distribution systems in Bamyan and Kunar provinces.
The new construction funds were awarded under the Commander's Emergency Response Program, a U.S. program to fund projects of urgent need.
"Overall, roads are what provide the foundation for continued growth and prosperity in Afghanistan," Army Lt. Gen. Karl W. Eikenberry, commander of Combined Forces Command Afghanistan, said.
Eikenberry, along with Lt. Gen. Carl A. Strock, the U.S. Army chief of engineers and commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Col. William E. Bulen, commander of the Corps of Engineers’ Afghanistan Engineer District, were all present for a CERP partnership signing ceremony with representatives from the selected construction firms.
The companies that were awarded 12 contracts are: Afghan Builders Consortium, Al-Watan Construction Company, AMERIFA, Kainaat Construction Logistics and Trade Company, Pro Sima International, Tatekan and Afghan Bakhter Companies, and Zurmat Construction Company.
"Afghan firms have stepped up to the plate as they foster their nation's engineering capacity by submitting proposals on projects that will help rebuild their country," Strock said.
Afghans perform more than 80 percent of the work done on U.S. Army Corps of Engineers projects in Afghanistan.
"All of these workers are true professionals," Strock said. "Afghanistan needs more Afghan engineers and skilled workers, as they are crucial to the country's future and help to make a difference by building its infrastructure."
(From a Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news release.)
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