Afghanistan to Build 12 New Airports Within Next Five Years

Text of article in English entitled: “Afghanistan to get 12 new airports” by state-owned Afghan newspaper The Kabul Times on 31 May

Afghanistan will build 12 airports over the next five years in provinces throughout the country, the Transport and Aviation Minister Hamidollah Qaderi has said.

Qaderir, appointed to the ministerial role two months ago, said today (Thursday) at a press conference that the airports will be built with financial assistance from the World Bank and the Asia Development Bank.

The airports will be constructed in Maydan Wardak, Nimroz, Ghowr, Farah, Bamian, Badakhshan, Khost and other provinces, explained Qaderi, who said the ministry had benefited from a larger budget in recent months.

“Our income from the Kabul aviation and transportation service has risen two fold in the last two months,” he said, putting last year’s income at $49 million. The amount is expected to reach $60 million this year.

The ministry will need a budget of $500 million over the coming five years and most of it will be spent on building new airports. Afghanistan’s aviation sector has been badly shattered by decades of war.

Originally published by The Kabul Times, Kabul, in English 31 May 08 p 1.

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