Afghans Work On Dam, Building Reconstruction Projects

American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2006 - More than 140 Afghan laborers are currently working to complete local dam and building construction projects worth a total of nearly half a million dollars, according to Combined Forces Command Afghanistan news releases.

More than 90 Afghan workers are helping to build a water-retention dam on a natural waterway near the village of Rawza in Ghazni district, Ghazni province. Work on the $200,000 concrete dam began July 25, but much of the work was redone because of heavy rain and flooding that month.

Work on the more than 45-foot-high dam is 25 percent complete. The project is scheduled to be finished in the middle of November. When completed, the dam will help safeguard nearby homes and crops from flooding.

Also, more than 50 Afghans are laboring to build new district education and administrative buildings in Qara Bagh district, Ghazni province. The project costs more than $254,000 and is slated for completion in March 2007.

Work on the two buildings began Sept. 4. They will have water and electrical systems, latrines, guard towers and a perimeter wall, which is already in place.

The project is on schedule and will benefit many Afghans living in the area, said Lt. Col. John Paradis, a coalition spokesman.

"This project is another example of the coalition's hard work in helping rebuild Afghanistan so that the Afghan people can live their way of life without harassment of the Taliban and other terrorist organizations," Paradis said.

[Web Version: http://www.defenselink.mil/News/NewsArticle.aspx?ID=1387]

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