Government urged to resume construction of Bamyan-Doshi road

BAMYAN CITY (Pajhwok): Some residents in central Bamyan province have stressed over completion of half-finished development projects and said the construction of Bamyan-Doshi transit road would promote economic development and reduce the rates of commercial goods.

The 152 kilometres Bamyan-Doshi road go through Kamhard, Saighan and Shirbar districts of Bamyan, it begins from Baghlan’s Doshi district and connects with Bamya City, the provincial capital.

Work on this national project was started in the past government with the financial support of the World Bank but it remained incomplete.

Qudratullah Raha, head of the Bamika University in Bamyan City, told Pajhwok Afghan News the Bamyan-Doshi road had multi-dimensional importance.

The construction of ring roads and the creation of convenience in the field of transportation have had a profound effect on the reduction of the price of materials and commercial items needed by the people and have a significant role in the economic problems of the people and the country.

He explained the price of commercial items is dependent on the distance of the market and the ease of its transfer.

The Doshi-Bamyan road is a part of these north-south corridors, which is of special strategic importance in the transfer of commercial goods between the northern provinces, Central Asian countries and the country’s capital. And with the completion of that work, the ground for the growth of the national economy will be provided.

Qudratulah said with the completion of this project, short-term jobs would  been generated for the people, hundreds of local residents would invest invested in this direction and would have access to job and income-generating opportunities.

Experts of tourism industry also believed that the Bamyan-Doshi road would help promote tourism in Bamyan province.

Ali Mohammadi, a tourism expert, said Bamyan is one of the ancient and historical provinces in Afghanistan, which is extremely important in terms of natural attractions and historical monuments.

He said the completion of this transit corridor will bring thousands of domestic tourists from the northern provinces to Bamyan every year and strengthen the development of the tourism industry in Afghanistan.

He believed the tourism industry is currently the third income-generating industry in the world, which plays a very important role in generating employment and income for the residents of touristic areas, and will create job opportunities in the fields of handicrafts, transportation, hotel management, and accommodation services.

While stressing in national income generation through the growth of the tourism industry in the country, he said that last year nearly two hundred thousand domestic and foreign tourists visited Bamyan, and that with the construction of such highways, the number of tourists will increase in Afghanistan.

Shaikh Jummah Rizwan, one of the religious scholars in Bamyan City, said from a social and cultural point of view, the construction of highways plays an essential role in the development of the society; it provides the basis for recognition and interaction between different ethnic groups in the country.

He said the more there is opportunity for interaction and recognition between different ethnic groups in the country the more there is reduction in tension and existing gape between the people disappear.

Eng. Hafeezullah Naimati, head of the Public Works Department, said that government leadership strived to resume the construction of Bamyan-Doshi road.

He said 40 percent of the of 65 kilometres road inside Bamyan province was completed during the past government.

He said recently, this road has been evaluated by the Department of Public Works and its approximate budget had been shared with the relevant ministry so that it will be included in the budget next year.

According to a separate statement, earlier Governor Mawlavi Abdullah Sarhadi, met with Acting Public Works Minister Mullah Mohammad Esa Sani and held discussion regarding the completion of Bamyan-Doshi road.

The statement said that public works minister assured the resumption of work on this mega national project and it would be included in the coming year’s budget.

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