Salang reconstruction work to resume

KABUL (TOLOnews): The Ministry of Public Works said that the reconstruction of the Salang Pass will resume soon with the improvement of the weather.
Officials in the ministry said that the construction cost of part of the Salang highway has been collected through the toll tax on vehicles passing through this route, as per the directive of the leader of the Islamic Emirate and deposited into a specified bank account.
Reconstruction will be resumed by several private companies that had previously been contracted.
Mohammad Ashraf Haqshenas, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works, told TOLOnews: “With the improvement of the weather, the reconstruction of the Salang highway, which had previously been contracted in three parts, will resume, and its funding will come from the crossing tax revenue, activated in the southern Salang by the order of the Amir al-Mu’minin.”
The crossing tax has been set by the Ministry of Public Works at 800 to 2,600 Afs for fast-moving and freight vehicles; however, the ministry has not disclosed how much money has been collected so far.
Meanwhile, drivers on this route complain about the excessive deterioration of the road.
Abdullah, a freight vehicle driver who was supposed to transport onions from Tajikistan to Pakistan and whose truck broke down, told TOLOnews: “We loaded a lot of onions, now they have spoiled, and the road is still not fixed; we are facing many problems.”
Drivers and passengers using this route are urging officials to fundamentally reconstruct this highway.
“From here to Jabal Saraj, it takes a whole day; the vehicles are weak, the load is heavy, and the road is not fixed,” said Sharifullah, a resident of Baghlan.
“Our request is that these roads be built as soon as possible,” said Wais Rahman, another driver on the Salang route.
The concrete inside the Salang tunnel and Gallery 16 was completed on the 29th of Qaws last year (solar calendar), and 80 kilometers of this highway are set to be rebuilt by contracted companies.