Agreement on Feasibility Study for Rehabilitation/Construction of Nawar bridge

in Afghanistan

PRESS RELEASE

An Agreement on Feasibility Study for Rehabilitation/Construction of Nawar bridge of Hesarak in Nangarhar  Province has been signed between the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), Government of the Transitional Islamic State of Afghanistan and ECO Consultancy and Engineering Company (ECO-CEC) today at the ECO Secretariat, Tehran.

            For the first time in the history of ECO, the Organization is going to implement a major project in line with the reconstruction of Afghanistan. On the outset of this major ECO activity it may be referred to the fact that the 12^th meeting of ECO Council of Ministers and the 7^th Summit held in October 2002, in Istanbul, among other things, the focus was on reconstruction of Afghanistan. Hence, ECO Secretariat was tasked by these two major policy making bodies of the Organization to prepare a Plan of Action reflecting a deep sense of solidarity shown by the member states towards reconstruction process in Afghanistan within its capacity and resources. The Plan of Action prepared by the Secretariat consists of elements deliberated by ECO decision-making organs and proposed by the member states at bilateral level or through the ECO Secretariat to the Government of Afghanistan.  The Plan envisages: (i) establishment of ECO Special Fund to finance some priority projects in Afghanistan; (ii) utilization of Feasibility Fund for the feasibility studies for the priority projects in Afghanistan on case to case basis; (iii) allocation of an adequate amount out of ECO Feasibility Fund for implementation of projects other than feasibility studies on case by case basis. (iv) holding an ECO seminar on reconstruction of Afghanistan. (v) Training courses to Afghan officials in the priority sectors.

            Within the framework of the implementation of the Plan, feasibility study for Rehabilitation/Construction of Nawar bridge of Hesarak in Nangarhar Province will be financed through ECO Feasibility Fund. ECO Consultancy and Engineering Company (ECO-CEC), which comprises companies from three Member States, namely Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, will carry out the study. After the completion of this study, the Government of Afghanistan will propose other studies for its priority projects.

            In this meeting, ECO Secretary General, Mr. Askhat Orazbay, while welcoming the occasion, stressed that conducting projects in reconstruction of Afghanistan is one of the major tasks of the Organization and ECO is triggering such efforts through implementing this very project and so would follow this path. Dr. Moshahed, the Ambassador of Afghanistan in Tehran who signed the contract on behalf of his government, appreciated the efforts of ECO in this regard and said that since people of Afghanistan have a positive view regarding ECO, so they expect the organization to take more active part in reconstruction of the country. He also added that most of the ECO members are neighbors to Afghanistan and so receiving assistance from ECO members is more favorable. Since the feasibility study of project is given to ECO-CEC, so the Managing Director of this Company, Mr. Muhammad Jamil Dogar attended this ceremony. He said that ECO-CEC would do its best to show that is capable of carring out such projects, so to earn a good name for the Company and ECO at the same time. He also referred to the commitment of the company to conduct the project in the most proper way possible. 

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