Afghanistan has seen its fair share of turmoil with wars, sanctions, and instability plaguing the country for over six decades.
But a new project gaining traction promises a much brighter future for its Kabul residents.
Back in 2008, £11.4 billion ($15 billion) was set aside by the Afghan government to restructure its capital due to overpopulation in the region by refugees.
The new urban development mega project will cover an area of 722 square kilometers in the north-east of Kabul – the capital of Afghanistan.
However, the plan was met with several challenges, which halted many of these projects but has since been revived.
Blueprints were finalised by the Afghan government last year, for Kabul New City which was initiated by the Afghan government in 2006 and approved by the cabinet in 2009.
The new Kabul project will be one of the largest urban development projects in Afghanistan’s history and is expected to be completed by 2040.
Water, electricity, sewage systems, and roadworks were revamped for this new mega city.
By August 2023, a significant breakthrough for this megaproject came when an agreement was signed by the government and Kawar Group Construction and created housing and infrastructure for three million people.
A contract was signed between the Ministry of Urban Development and Housing (MoUDH) and KCC the developer.
This set the plans in motion allowing Afghanistan’s goals to become a reality in establishing the country’s robust infrastructure and economy.
Alongside this agreement and international aid, a newfound focus on Afghanistan’s mega projects is closer than ever, which aims at improving the lives of all its citizens.
This new mega-city will also create roughly 1.2 million new job opportunities in the process.
The estimated cost for this mega project by the previous Afghan government sat at around a whopping £61,183,120,000.00 ($80 billion).
The previous Afghan government stated that the share in the construction of this project would be five per cent for the government and the remaining expenses would be covered by the private sector.
Developer of Kabul City said: “Kabul New City is planned to offer a full spectrum of facilities of a modern metropolis and accommodate three million inhabitants, providing a substantial solution to the rapidly growing population’s needs in the capital.”
