Cablegate: Prt/Qal-E Now: Spanish Road Construction Update

VZCZCXRO1428
PP RUEHDBU RUEHIK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBUL #5778/01 3450718
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 110718Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY KABUL
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4765
INFO RUCNAFG/AFGHANISTAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 0353
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 3389
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 3367
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/OSD WASHINGTON DC
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/HQ USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 KABUL 005778

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/FO, SCA/A, S/CR, S/CT, SCA/PAB, EUR/RPM
STATE PASS TO USAID FOR AID/ANE
NSC FOR AHARRIMAN
OSD FOR KIMMETT
CENTCOM FOR CG CFC-A, CG CJTF-76, AND POLAD
RELEASABLE TO NATO/ISAF/AUS/NZ

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV ECON ELTN EAID AF
SUBJECT: PRT/QAL-E NOW: SPANISH ROAD CONSTRUCTION UPDATE

REF: KABUL 5666

THIS CABLE SUPERCEDES KABUL 5667

1. (U) SUMMARY: The Spanish Agency for International
Cooperation (AECI) is working on a road between the
provincial capital, Qal-e Now, and the Sabsak Pass, on the
border between Herat and Badghis Provinces. The Spaniards
plan to complete work on the first 30 kilometers by the end
of the year and hope to complete the project in 2007. This
road will greatly facilitate vital commerce and travel
between Qal-e Now and Herat. In spite of earlier speculation
linking the Spanish project to planning for the National Ring
Road, the road they are constructing will remain a secondary,
unpaved road, and will not/not be a part of the National Ring
Road. The GOA is satisfied with this arrangement, in light
of recent news that the Asian Development Bank (ADB) has
pledged up to $100 million for construction of that
north-west National Ring Road segment, which is now projected
along a separate alignment well to the north of Qal-e Now.
This new ADB pledge is significant because it resolves the
funding issue for the last, unassigned portion of the
National Ring Road, thus fulfilling a major U.S. strategic
objective. END SUMMARY.

2. (U) With no good roads to adjacent provinces, Qal-e Now
has suffered relative economic isolation. Travel between
Qal-e Now and Herat, a distance of 150 kilometers, currently
takes between six and 10 hours depending on weather
conditions. When the Spanish PRT was established in May
2005, the AECI identified an improved road linking Herat and
Qal-e Now as a prerequisite to provincial development.
Spanish engineers designed a 58 kilometer road from Qal-e Now
to the Sabsak Pass on and adjacent to the existing dirt road.

3. (U) The new road starts at the AECI-constructed bridge
connecting Qal-e Now to its new airstrip (reftel) and
continues southward toward Herat. The first two phases of
the road are relatively flat, but the final phase will
require the construction of a route across the 2,500
meter-high Sabsak pass. The road follows a seasonal river
bed and passes through several villages and small
communities. Expansion of the dirt road to a seven
meter-wide gravel road with a one-foot layer of sub-base, two
meters of improved shoulder, proper embankments, and drainage
culverts has required AECI to work closely with locals to
compensate those who lose property because of the expansion.

4. (U) Flooding and a lack of data on historic rainfall and
runoff patterns is a key problem faced by Spanish
engineers. The head of the project thinks "it is impossible
to know how high to build a bridge if you simply
don't know how high the seasonal flood waters rise." To
solve this problem the Spanish have opted to construct a
series of "bridge-fords" designed to withstand floodwaters by
allowing the water to pass over the bridge without
damaging the structure.

5. (U) The majority of the 56 kilometers will be gravel, but
AECI is considering cementing the upper parts of the
road in the Sabsak Pass where weather conditions would
quickly deteriorate a road made of compacted materials or
asphalt. Local government and citizens alike often voice the
hope that the Spanish will someday pave the entire
road, but AECI has no plans to construct asphalt roads in the
province. According to AECI head Pablo Yuste, the decision
not to pave the road was taken for both economic and
developmental reasons. He explained that not only was the
cost of paving the road prohibitive, but the eventual cost of
repairing the road would also limit the province's ability to
maintaining the vital trade route. (CFC-A Note: Paving would
decrease the risk of improvised explosive devices (IEDs).
While not currently a problem in this area, this could become
more important should the insurgency move into the western

KABUL 00005778 002 OF 002

provinces. End Note.). AECI plans to donate machinery
currently being used to construct the airport to the
provincial government. These machines will enable it not
only to maintain the new road but construct additional roads
with little or no outside assistance.

6. COMMENT: (SBU) There has been some confusion regarding how
the Spanish road fits into the GOA's plans for developing a
nation-wide road network. At one point Deputy Minister of
Public Works, Dr. Mohammed Wali Rasooli, informed AECI that
their road should become part of the Ring Road project and
asked them to build the road according to Ring Road
specifications. At a later date, Dr. Rasooli decided that
the Ring Road would pass well north of Qal-e Now and asked
AECI to downgrade its project and provide the excess funding
to Rasooli's ministry. Currently AECI, which considers this
to be a secondary road with an alignment that is not
conducive to the Ring Road standards, is continuing with its
original construction plans while the GOA has recorded a
major success in lining up a new funding pledge from the
Asian Development Bank to build the projected National Ring
Road segment along a new alignment considerably to the north
of Qal-e Now.

7. (SBU) The first 30 kilometers of the road should be
completed on schedule before the end of the year, and AECI
hopes to complete the entire project in 2007. (CFC-A Comment:
This is an ambitious schedule considering design, survey, and
construction requirements. End Comment.). When completed,
the road will greatly reduce travel time to Herat, especially
during winter months. It is hard to over-state the
importance of a secure and reliable transportation route to
the future development of what has been one of Afghanistan's
most remote and underdeveloped
provinces. END COMMENT.
NEUMANN

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