PRT conducts Bagh-e-pul economic assessment by Chief Master Sgt. Richard Simonsen PRT-K
KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – Members of the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team and U.S. Agency for International Development visited the Bagh-e-Pul area of Kandahar City’s Sub-District Seven, June 18, to assess the economic development of the area.
“There was a lot going on there,” said U.S. Army Maj. Eric Kerr, a civil affairs officer with the Kandahar PRT from Chelsea, Mich. “I thought it was an excellent opportunity to observe a wide variety economic activity including merchants, service providers, and innkeepers.”
Pictured: U.S. Army Maj. Eric Kerr, a civil affairs officer for the Kandahar Provincial Reconstruction Team from Chelsea, Mich., walks with Daoud, the manager of the Double Cola bottling plant in the Bagh-e-Pul area of Kandahar City. The PRT visited the plant to assess the impact of provided power. The plant manager hopes to increase production and the number of employees in the near future.
“Now I have 85 employees and I hope to increase that to 150,” said Daoud, the plant manager of the operation that bottles water and soft drinks for sale regionally in the provinces of Kandahar, Uruzgan, Helmand and Kabul.
The power is created using generators located nearby with fuel subsidized by the International Security Assistance Force.
“Before the electricity, we would use 50 liters of diesel fuel per hour to run our generator. But now with the power, we hope to increase our market,” said Daoud.
The Bagh-e-Pul area is located along Highway One, the ring road that circles the country of Afghanistan. Afghans congregate at a market area on their way to and from Helmand, Uruzgan and Herat. During the PRT’s visit, the market area of more than 150 shops was full of travelers.
“I thought it was an excellent opportunity to witness the burgeoning economic activity in the Bagh-e-pul area and discuss electricity issues with local vendors and business owners,” said Kerr. “We learned how important electricity is to them. Every time we help them provide a job opportunity we take a potential insurgent off the battlefield.”
Overall, the merchants and shopkeepers seemed satisfied with the reliability of the electricity service provided.
“The power gives the merchants a lot of potential for their shops,” said Abdullah Jon, the deputy mayor for the market area.
“I think it affords them the opportunities to operate for longer hours,” said Kerr. “Some use is as a convenience while others, like the barber and bathhouse keeper, use it as a necessity. For the bottle plant, the availability of electricity gives them an opportunity to expand their operations and almost double their work force.”
The Kandahar PRT works with the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan at the district and provincial levels to improve the infrastructure capacity of the nation.
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