Contract Delays Led to Cost Overruns for the Kabul Power Plant and Sustainability Remains a Key Challenge
Abstract
This report presents the results of our review of U.S. assistance to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan to construct the 105 megawatt Kabul Power Plant at a total cost of more than $300 million. This report updates and builds upon the audit report issued by the Office of the Inspector General of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) in November 2009, which provided a number of recommendations designed to improve the management of the Kabul Power Plant contract. In addition to the concerns raised by the Office of the USAID Inspector General, we are concerned that the long-term sustainability of the plant could be compromised by the decision to build a dual fuel plant that is capable of running on diesel or heavy fuel oil. The use of heavy fuel oil requires a level of technical knowledge and sophistication which may prove difficult for the Afghans to achieve--with no clear economic benefit compared to running the plant exclusively on diesel fuel. In line with this concern, this report includes a recommendation to USAID to help ensure the project is maintained in a sustainable manner.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 20, 2010
- Accession Number
- ADA535324
Entities
Organizations
- Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction