Thematic Area: Poverty Reduction

|AliceGhan Project Document|
|AliceGhan Progress Report Quarter 2 2008|
|AliceGhan Annual Report 2007|
|AliceGhan Progress Report Quarter 2 2007|
|RISE Project Document|
|RISE Progress Report Quarter 1 2007|
|RISE Annual Report 2006|
|VCTU Annual Report 2007|
|VCTU Progress Report Quarter 1 2008|
|VCTU Progress Report Quarter 2 2008|

[Last Updated July 2008]

Project Start Date: Sep 2006
Project End Date: Dec 2008
Project Location: Barikab, Kabul
Status of the Project: Ongoing
Implementing Partners: DIM (Sub-Contractor)

The UDG consists of 2 ongoing and 1 completed projects namely,

1. AliceGhan,
2. Upgrading Nine Vocational Trainings Centers
3. Regional Initiative for Sustainable Economy Projects.

Major Achievements

AliceGhan (September 2006 - Dec 2008):

The target site of the AliceGhan project is Barikab, Qarabagh District in the north of Kabul Province, where the project will construct 1,400 houses in addition to the provision of basic infrastructure and livelihood support for the beneficiary community. Beneficiary participation, building of sustainable community and the creation of a replicable model for the future returnee/ IDP settlement construction are core principles that guide the implementation. Relevant government authorities, mainly the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations (MoRR), Ministry of Urban Development (MoUD) and Kabul Governor’s Office, have shouldered the planning and implementation responsibilities of this project.

The project is funded by the Government of Australia. The name “AliceGhan” derives from a combination of names “Alice Spring” – a place in Australia which has a strong linkage with Afghan migrants to Australia – and “Afghanistan”, symbolizing the partnership and commitment of these two countries to materialize this resettlement project.

AliceGhan aims to support community-built mud brick housing based on labor intensive construction methods. This is based on the principle of maximizing benefits for a maximum number of beneficiaries.
The second and third quarter this year was marked with some excellent achievements:

a) Topography, land use and road map;
b) Architectural and structural design of infrastructure;
c) Preparation of Bid Documents;
d) Technical Evaluation of Bids;
e) Construction Phase;
f) Coordination among Stakeholders; and
g) Location of Sustainable Water Source at Qala-e-Shahi

The community empowerment approach of this project is through development and empowerment of Community Development Groups (CDGs). The aim is to allow the representatives of communities, CDGs, to act as a catalyst for the social and economic development of project beneficiaries and to be a vehicle for promoting sustainable livelihoods. Towards ensuring that beneficiaries have a sustainable avenue for livelihood options even after the completion of the project, the project will focus on developing CDGs / beneficiaries’ skills during the construction phase and generating community-based savings to sustain their own infrastructure and services.

The official on-site Inauguration Ceremony at Barikab site was held on 21 June 2007.

Upgrading Nine Vocational Training Centers (August 2007 – December 2008):

The project aims at contributing broadly towards peace and stability in Afghanistan by promoting sustainable livelihood and reintegration processes, meeting the humanitarian needs of Afghan nationals while building capacities in relevant Afghan government agencies. Specifically, the project aims to providing support vocational skills and sustainable livelihood for rural people including disabled, ex combatants and most vulnerable people through upgrading nine vocational training centers and better equipping the Vocational Training Centers in Kabul, Bamyan, Mazar, Jalalabad, Gardez, Heart, Jawzjan, Kunduz and Kandahar. These vocational training centres are run by Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs, Martyrs and Disabled (MOLSAMD) with support from JICA. The project is funded by the Government of Japan.

There are two main components of this project explained bellow:

Out Put (1): Construction and renovation of Vocational Training Centres:

The main component of this project is construction and renovation of nine vocational training centers in nine provinces of Afghanistan i.e. Nangarhar, Kabul, Gardez, Bamyan, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kundoz, Jowzjan, Herat and Kandahar. MoLSAMD began the “Basic Vocational Training Project for Ex-Combatants” in co-operation with Japan International Co-operation Agency (JICA) in April 2004. Nine vocational training centers were constructed in 2005 under the initiative known as the Japanese Grassroots Fund implemented in Kabul, Bamyan, Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad, Gardiz, Herat, Jawzjan, Kunduz and Kandahar. These centers were handed-over to MoLSAMD. However, 6 out of 9 centers did not have boundary walls and faced security concerns. In addition, to make these centers fully operational, there was a need for remedial construction works of fix various building defects. These activities were intended to make the vocational training centers fully operational that would enable future vocational training activities. This Project is being implemented through the UNDP Direct Execution Modality (DEX). In this modality, Afghan private sector national construction companies as well as national suppliers are selected to undertake the upgrading works through a competitive bidding process. The construction works for each centre include: construction of permanent outdoor enclosures for generators, construction of boundary walls with installation of window security grills and air conditioning systems. In addition, various building defects arising from poor quality construction by the original building contractors is also being remedied.

The project is being implemented as a collaborative partnership between MoLSAMD the beneficiary ministry, JICA, the main donor and Urban Development Group –the implementing agency.

Out Put (2): Upgrading of Nine Vocational Training Centres through procurement of common tools and spare parts

Under the project, UDG has procured essential assets such as generators, common tools and spare parts and have completed the procurement process of mini-buses for the training centers to make them operational.

provided all 6 generators and delivered them to the related provinces.
Project ID: 00057895
Duration: September 2007 to October 2008
Component (MYFF): Upgrading of Nine Vocational Training Centers
Total Budget: USD 2,056,031
Funded: Japan
Implementing Partners/Responsible parties: UDG/UNDP, JICA and MoLSAMD

Regional Initiative for Sustainable Economy (RISE) (Feb 2006 – June 2007):

The project through an integrated regional development approach with urban-rural linkages, intended to promote rural livelihoods and create an enabling environment for sustainable regional economy. The project was jointly implemented by UNDP, Food and Agriculture Organization of UN (FAO) and UN Mine Action Centre for Afghanistan (UNMACA), and in close collaboration with the relevant government ministries such as Ministry of Urban Development (MOUD), Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock (MoAIL) and local municipalities and departmental authorities in the target regions of Balkh, Nangarhar and Kandahar.

The activities and the achievements under the RISE project were:

Activity 1: Monitoring & Evaluation (M&E) capacity building for local government authorities (Provincial Development Committees (PDCs):

In 2006, several M&E training workshops were held in the urban centers of the three target provinces: Mazar-e-Sharif, Jalalabad and Kandahar. In Jalalabad, some on-site M&E exercises were also conducted and the first set of M&E reports were produced.

Activity 2: Employment generation through infrastructure support:

57 infrastructure projects were implemented (including drainage channels, market area upgrading, public toilets, women’s / disabled access centers, irrigation protection walls, etc.) in the three target provinces (mostly provincial capitals). Two Joint Monitoring Missions were conducted to Jalalabad (22 April 2007) and Mazar (11 June 2007) with representatives from Ministry of Urban Development and Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock as well as from the Embassy of Japan, and on these occasions hand-over ceremonies were organized for completed infrastructures such as drainages in Jalalabad city and a vegetable market and a public toilet in Mazar. In all the three provinces, as of end June 2007 some 157,000 labour days of employment were generated, with priority given to the most vulnerable groups of society including returnees, Internal Displaced Persons, the disabled and vulnerable women.

Activity 3: Empowerment of vulnerable farmers:

All the agricultural input distribution beneficiaries (such as wheat seed, fruit stone seed, basic farming equipments, livestock, fish pond, etc.) for 2,000 selected and related training activities are on-going smoothly. As of end June 2007, a total of over 650 fruit tree nurseries established, over 600 green houses installed and 672 livestock distributed in the three target provinces. Efforts have been made to procure items locally in order to contribute to the local economy as well as for cost-effectiveness. In March 2007 five new activities were further added including training on animal health, animal feed distribution, pest & plant protection management and nutrition training & education. Technical training workshops have been conducted both in Kabul and regions.

Activity 4: Mine/UXO survey & clearance

In all the three target regions RISE project sites were surveyed and cleared. In Balkh and Nangarhar the mine/UXO (unexploded ordnances) contamination level turned out to be much less than earlier expected, and the RISE de-mining teams are deployed for humanitarian de-mining to cover wider areas.

In Kandahar de-mining works continue for RISE and surrounding areas, but the security constraints compelled activities to be suspended in some districts. As the achievement of RISE-funded de-mining teams, 413,458 square meters were cleared in total. 256 APMs, 1,527 UXOs and fragments were removed and destroyed from July to December 2006 operations. In late 2006, a new activity of Mine Risk Education (MRE) and Victim Assistance (VA) was added to this component, which has been undertaken smoothly. More than 20,000 people have benefited from the MRE/VA activities under RISE.

Partnerships and Resources:

Target Budget: US$ 21,434,296
Received Budget: US$ 21,434,296
Shortfall: N/A
Donors: Government of Australia and Government of Japan
Number of Project Staff: 10 International and 4 National

Focal Points:

Fernando Dacruz, UDG Programme Manager (fernando.dacruz@undp.org)
Mirwais Sarah, Programme Officer (mirwais.sarah@undp.org)

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