Trans-Hindukush Road Connectivity Project (THRCP) at Afghanistan

The Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan has obtained funding from the World Bank toward the cost of the THRCP for a seven-year Program for improving the road connectivity across the Hindukush mountain range north of Kabul. The project is executed by the Ministry of Public Work (MoPW) and has a total estimated cost of US$ 250 million, most of which are to be spent on civil works for the construction of the Baghlan to Bamyan road and the rehabilitation of the Salang pass road and the Salang Tunnel, and for the supervision of works for the same roads.

This project aims to be an alternate route for Salang Highway. Since this half-century-old highway of Salang carries almost all the traffic from North to South and vice-versa. It connects the Baghlan-Kunduz region to the Jalalabad-Kabul region with almost ten thousand vehicles transporting goods and passengers every day. The Salang highway is one of the highest motor-able roads and gets frequently blocked/affected by heavy snowfall and landslides. The GoA has identified the Bamyan to Baghlan corridor also called the Bamyan-Dushi road, located within the Provinces of Bamyan and Baghlan, as a national highway. Therefore, this highway will go through significant construction and maintenance under THRCP because of its strategic importance in providing an alternate route for the Salang highway.

The total road has been divided into six segments and conducts two ESIA studies covering segments 1, 2, and 6 (Phase-1) and segment 3, 4A, 4B, and 5 (phase-2). The audit study also comprises two studies for both phases.