DUSHANBE, December 27, 2014, Asia-Plus – Afghan news agency
Khaama Press
reported on December 24 that construction of a new Kabul city is ready to kick off.
Khaama Press
quoted Elham Omar Hotaki, deputy chief of Independent Board of Kabul New City Development (KNC), as saying that they are waiting for approval from the Afghan Presidential Palace to start construction works.
He reportedly said that the Dehsabz–Barikab City Development Authority (DCDA) and KNC had signed five agreements with the companies to construct 55,000 residential houses, and the companies are prepared to start their work.
According to Hotaki, the Kabul New City will be almost two times bigger than the current city of Kabul, adding that the construction of Kabul New City would be completed in two phases within 15 years.
He said that residential houses would be built for 1.5 million residents in the first phase of the construction while further houses would be built for another 1 million people in the second phase.
According to the official, the Kabul New City construction project is estimated to cost around $80 billion, and the private sector would play a major role in financing construction work.
The construction design of Kabul New City was completed almost eight years ago with the assistance from international experts, but this ambitious project has been postponed several times due to the difficult political situation in Afghanistan. Experts suggest that the Kabul New City would remain on paper if the international coalition forces completely withdraw from the war-torn country.
