German bank to rebuild Kabul water system

German bank KfW is planning to return to Afghanistan after a gap of 23 years to rehabilitate and develop the capital's shattered water system, an executive from the bank told IRIN on Saturday. "This morning, the state minister for Public Works signed minutes of meeting, which have to be confirmed by our government," Volker Karl, Vice-President, Hydraulic and Sanitary Engineering Division of KfW, a state-owned German bank, told IRIN in Kabul. He said the bank, which provides cheap loans or grants to developing countries for investments and project-tied advisory services, would improve the water distribution system of Kabul. KfW will also rehabilitate three major well-fields to allow them to pump water to their maximum capacity. "These fields are in various states of rehabilitation," Karl said. "We would like water production to be brought back to its original design capacity," he added. The bank would finance the project, which experts say could cost at least US$ 25 million for a city the size of Kabul. Shortage of water due to drought and the destruction of infrastructure has had major health and economic implications for Kabul's two million residents. Karl said it may take a few months before the actual work of the project could start. Total daily water output in Kabul is estimated to be 60,000 to 70,000 cubic metres but only 40,000 may be reaching consumers because of distribution losses. Karl said up to 50 percent of the water may be lost during distribution and at the consumer level because of leaking pipes and taps. A large part of Kabul was destroyed during the factional fighting between 1992 to 1996. No Afghan government has been able to invest in rebuilding the destroyed infrastructure leaving residents scurrying for water wherever it is available. KfW, established in 1948, is based in the German city of Frankfurt am Main. Its first major task was to provide financial resources to implement the Marshall Plan - the American-funded post-war initiative that led to German economic regeneration.