Electric power - driving development in Kundus, Afghanistan

‘A well regulated power supply is the key to economic development and stability,’ says Robert Kressirer, GIZ Country Director in Afghanistan. Commissioned by the German Government, the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH is assisting people in Afghanistan to develop future prospects for themselves in their own country. ‘Through our work, we want to help stabilise the country,’ said Kressirer.

Up to the present day, some 25 power plants have been built in Afghanistan – all on behalf of Germany’s Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). As a result, 200,000 Afghan citizens as well as several hundred schools, hospitals and businesses now have access to electricity round the clock. For example, take the northeastern province of Badakhshan. For a long time, the villages surrounding the city of Feyzabad were without a reliable power supply. In fact, until recently many of them were still completely in the dark. However, GIZ has since stepped in and helped install two hydropower plants here, benefiting some 30,000 people. The upshot: farmers can now put their produce into chilled storage before taking it to market – an innovation that has enabled them to raise their income. New businesses and companies such as copy shops, clerical services, joineries or oil mills are opening up too, creating new workplaces in the process.

Education is another key factor for development. To date, GIZ has set up 120 schools and universities in Afghanistan. These include primary schools, secondary schools, vocational training centres and universities. Some of them are in Kundus Province, where GIZ has assisted the education authority to build facilities for some 550 children, half of them girls. Before the school’s construction, lessons took place in tents. Conditions here were dusty and there were no tables or chairs. In winter temperatures dropped to minus 20 degrees Celsius and in summer they went up to over 40, which meant school was often cancelled. As Robert Kressirer states, ‘For the children and for the future of this country, this represents a major investment.’