ADB Asian Development Bank : Approves 3-Year Extension of Water Project in Afghanistan

KABUL, AFGHANISTAN (16 January 2018)- The Asian Development Bank's (ADB) Board of Directors has approved the 3-year extension of the availability period of the multitranche financing facility (MFF), approved in 2009, for the Water Resources Development Investment Program aimed to improve agricultural productivity in Afghanistan.

The 3-year extension, which will run from 22 September 2019 to 21 September 2022, will allow the project under the MFF's second tranche to be completed. The project's second tranche was approved in October 2013 and is comprised of a $100 million grant. The project will rehabilitate and improve the main irrigation canals and associated intake structures in two irrigation zones of the Lower Kokcha Irrigation System.

The MFF's outputs also include development of new irrigation, flood management, and water resources infrastructures; improvements of related institutional frameworks and policies; and strengthening of relevant agencies' capacity.

ADB, based in Manila, is dedicated to reducing poverty in Asia and the Pacific through inclusive economic growth, environmentally sustainable growth, and regional integration. Established in 1966, it is owned by 67 members-48 from the region.