Ministry lacks funds to repair Salang Road

CHARIKAR (Pajhwok): Amid complaints by passengers and drivers about a rundown condition of the key Salang highway, the Ministry of Public Works on Saturday said it lacked funds to carry out repair works.

The highway connects Kabul with northern provinces and is frequently clogged during winter by heavy snowfalls.

A driver Suhrab told Pajhwok Afghan News the highway had been damaged at various locations from the Jablus Siraj district of central Parwan province to Khanjan district of northern Baghlan.

A resident of the Baghlan-i-Markazi district of Baghlan, Mumtaz, who runs a shop in Kabul, also complained the road was in a bad condition.

Public Works Ministry official Eng. Ahmad Shah Wahid confirmed the road needed repair works from Jablus Siraj’s Tajikan area to Baghlan’s Doshi district, making 109 kilometres.

He said repairing the said portion required about $100 million, which the ministry currently lacked.

However, he said they were making efforts at finding resources for the repair works.

He also suggested the road should be kept closed for three months and the traffic diverted to the Ghorband-Bamyan road.

Wahid said the Public Works Ministry had repaired some portions of the Salang highway within the available resources this year.

He said interior parts of the tunnel and a portion of the road making five km in total had been repaired last year at a cost of $13m provided by ISAF.

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