ADB Loans $40 Million to Afghanistan

Friday July 7
5:53 am ET

Asian Development Bank Helps Afghanistan Expand Cell Phone Services With $40 Million Loan

MANILA, Philippines (AP) -- To help Afghanistan expand its mobile phone services, the Asian Development Bank said Friday it will provide a loan of $40 million loan and guarantees of up to $15 million.

The lending institution said the funds will help Roshan, one of the two mobile phone operators in the country majority owned by the Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development and partly financed by an ADB private sector loan, to provide near countrywide coverage and a network upgrade.

Roshan has significantly exceeded subscriber and traffic growth targets, the ADB said in a statement, and the company has had to accelerate its capital expenditure program to meet strong demands.

"We have already witnessed the revolutionary impact mobile phones have had on business, and the large external Afghan refugee community adds a further dimension to the importance of telecommunications for the country's development," ADB's official Michael Barrow said.

"Telecommunications have become a vital part of the redevelopment process in the Afghan economy," he said.

The ADB didn't offer figures for subscribers, but the Afghan Ministry of Communications said last year an estimated 800,000 Afghans, diplomats and foreign aid workers in the country had subscribed for mobile phones.

"Without the proposed financing, it is quite possible Roshan would have to significantly scale back or delay its expansion program," Barrow said.