KABUL, Afghanistan — Taliban said Monday that rebuilding the country’s roads and highways, which have suffered damage over the last 50 years, will take considerable time. This comes as Taliban has been responsible for significant damage to Afghanistan’s infrastructure over the past two decades.
The Kabul-Kandahar highway, a vital artery in Afghanistan’s transportation network, has been particularly hard hit by explosions and security incidents during the years of conflict, much of it attributed to Taliban activity. In July of last year, the Taliban sought to attract private companies to help rebuild the highway, yet progress remains slow.
Abdul Karim Fatih, the Taliban’s deputy minister of public works, highlighted the extent of the challenge at a recent press conference in Kabul. “There are 1,700 destroyed points on the Kabul-Kandahar highway, and the reconstruction of each one requires 28 days,” he said. “For half a century, our country has faced wars and problems, and therefore, the reconstruction of highways and roads requires more time.”
Over the past 20 years, the Taliban have played a significant role in the destruction of Afghanistan’s roads, with the Kabul-Kandahar highway being the most severely damaged. The highway’s culverts, in particular, have borne the brunt of these attacks, often being targeted with explosives.
In addition to the Kabul-Kandahar highway, the Taliban has also begun the reconstruction of the Kandahar-Uruzgan road. This project has been contracted to private companies in exchange for mining rights.
Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, a spokesman for the Ministry of Public Works, provided an update on the broader reconstruction efforts, noting that in the past year alone, more than 1,600 kilometers of roads have been repaired or repaved. “In the past year, 1,698 kilometers of roads have been asphalted and repaired, more than 30 bridges spanning over two thousand meters have been completed, and nearly two thousand culverts have been rebuilt, repaired, or cleaned,” he said.
The Kabul-Kandahar highway, stretching 483 kilometers from Kabul’s Arghandi Square through Maidan Wardak, Ghazni, and Qalat, and ending in Kandahar’s Aino Mina area, is one of Afghanistan’s most critical national highways. Originally constructed in 2001 with a budget of nearly $200 million, including contributions from the Japanese government, the highway has since been repeatedly damaged by explosions, largely attributed to the Taliban.
