Challenge
After decades of war, Afghanistan needed a path to economic recovery, including new roads, bridges, power plants and the capacity to maintain them.
Solution
In 2006, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) launched the Afghanistan Infrastructure and Rehabilitation Program (AIRP) in partnership with the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. USAID hired WSP, in a joint venture with Black & Veatch, to implement the program and spur economic recovery and political stability through the rehabilitation of critical physical infrastructure throughout the country.
WSP designed and managed construction projects and provided technical assistance to the Afghan government, established an Afghan-led reconstruction effort and developed sustainable local capacity to operate and maintain the completed infrastructure. Program highlights include:
- Managing construction of new roads throughout Afghanistan, including the 103-kilometer Keshim-Faizabad Road, the 101-kilometer Gardez-Khost Road and the Southern Strategy Road in Kandahar province.
- Refurbishment of a 15MW hydroelectric turbine at the Kajakai Dam.
- Working with the Afghan government to develop a sustainable road management entity capable of maintaining more than 1,500 kilometers of primary and provincial roads.
- Building the capacity of local contractors and laborers to construct and maintain Afghanistan’s expanding road network.
- Creation of more than 16,000 jobs in the region and positively impacting the lives of an estimated 9 million people.
