Afghan-German flood wall partnership will directly benefit 30,000 Baghlan residents

The German government this week facilitated the signing of a contract for the construction of a flood protection wall in Baghlan province in order to safeguard the lives of Pul-e Khumri city residents. 

On Tuesday, Baghlan’s Provincial Governor Taj Mohammad Jahid and the Director of Lower Kunduz River Basin Agency (LKRBA) signed the contract for the flood protection wall.

The Afghan-German Cooperation’s Regional Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) will support the project’s technical implementation together with LKRBA and finance the project at a total cost of about AFN 67.7 million.

At the signing ceremony, Jahid, stated: “I express my thanks to the German government for funding this project. It will positively impact this area in the long term.”

Recently, flooding heavily eroded the Baladori Intake on the Lower Kunduz River, affecting the livelihoods of 30,000 residents along the Baladori Canal and in the Pul-i Khumri city centre. 

Several buildings close to the riverbank were destroyed especially as existing flood protection measures are in poor condition. 

According to the German Cooperation with Afghanistan website, the project was initiated by the LKRBA in 2016 to mitigate the risks of flooding.

The next step involved the Provincial Development Council (PDC) which prioritized the project in its development plan and now, construction work is expected to begin within two months.

The Provincial Director of Baghlan River Basin Agency, Asifullah Rahimi, explained: “With this important project’s implementation, many houses and community lands will be protected from flooding. Also, the intake of Baladori Canal will be strengthened to supply more water for about 400 ha (2,000 jeribs) of agricultural land.”

In addition to construction work, RIDF will offer on-the-job training, remote coaching and mentoring sessions for the engineers and managers working on the project. 

“The aim is to develop the department’s capacities to design, construct and maintain similar infrastructure projects independently in the future,” the RIDF statement read. 

The KfW Development Bank implements the Regional Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF) program on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). 

RIDF aims to improve the living conditions in northern Afghanistan by providing basic infrastructure and empowering administration and citizen groups to plan, implement and operate infrastructure projects. 

Infrastructure measures include the construction of roads, irrigation canals, flood protection walls, and schools as well as the development of the power grid.