Thematic Area: Crisis Prevention and Recovery
AliceGhan Project Document
Annual Work Plan of 2009
Progress Report Quarter 2 2009, Annex 2, Annex 3, Annex 4
Aliceghan Progress Report Quarter 1 2009
AliceGhan Progress Report Quarter 2 2008
AliceGhan Progress Report Quarter 3 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
VCTU Progress Report Quarter 3 2008
[Last Updated April 2009]
Project Start Date: Sep 2006
Project End Date: Dec 2008
Project Location: Barikab, Kabul
Status of the Project: Ongoing
Implementing Partners/Responsible parties: UDG/UNDP, JICA and MoLSAMD
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 third and fourth quarter of 2008 was marked with some excellent achievements:
a) The agreement with all stakeholders of improvements to the beneficiary selection process and the reverification of around 670 beneficiaries;
b) Commencement of construction of around 640;
c) The completion of construction of around 500 houses;
d) The completion of 7.4km of road;
e) 90% completion of the construction of a 10 classroom school;
f) The commencement of carpentry, masonry and bakery training courses
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.
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 which has already been done. 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.
In addition, the above mentioned output was successfully completed in all nine project sites (Ningarhar, Bamyan, Gardiz, Kabul, Mazar, Jowzjan, Kundoz, Herat and Kandahar). However, the contractors have not received final payments and the project team will administer all payments as construction works have been successfully completed.
1. Construction and renovation activities in Nangarhar province
Construction was reported as successfully completed in the previous quarter. However, it is worth mentioning that the total contract sum for the project was originally USD 50,290 which increased to
USD 58, 208. This USD 7,918 increase was because additional work was undertaken in close collaboration with the respective donor and government counterparts.
The head of Nangarhar Department of Labor Social Affaires Martyrs & Disabled, assigned an inspection team comprising of four technical staff that included UNDP/UDG National engineers for the final inspection and monitoring of the project to prepare complete hand over documents. The responsible team completed all the handover documents which were submitted to UNDP/UDG.
2. Construction and renovation activities in Kandahar province
The total contract sum for Kandahar center was USD 66,558. However, because of an incorrect specification and miscalculation in the Bills of Quantity (BoQ), identified in the previous quarter, the contract sum was increased to USD 72,667. This USD 6,109 additional amount was paid to the contractor for extra work done in the field to address the corrected BoQ. The project does have a contingency sum from which this sum was utilized to pay the construction contractor for this additional amount.
3. Construction and renovation activities in Bamyan province
The construction and renovation activities for this province was 100% completed on August 20 2008. However, the renovation/repairing activities in Bamyan VTC were delayed because of the very low quality of construction undertaken by the previous contractor that was a local Construction Company that had built the Bamyan VCT in 2005. This resulted in several horizontal and vertical structural cracks observed in the building. Hence, UNDP/UDG Engineers advised that renovation works be avoided until the full extent of the required repairs was assessed. In response to this, advice, the JICA team requested UNDP/UDG, UNOPS, RRD Bamyan and MoLSAMD to provide a comprehensive quality report to explain the technical deficiencies of the building. A comprehensive report was prepared by the above independent team and was presented to JICA and MoLSAMD.
In the report the independent team clarified that the quality of the Bamyan VTC was found to be very low, as per monitoring observations. The recommendation was that if there is sufficient budget available, a new vocational training center building should be constructed at another location as the present building had been built in Bamyan had been built next to a river. In other words, instead of repairing the current building, a new building that is more technically sound and location elsewhere should be constructed. Moreover, the building design should contain all technical aspects of building construction instead of implementing a standard typical design. JICA and MoLSAMD were advised of minor repairs and renovations as an interim measure in order to use this building until construction of another replacement building.
On 25 June 2008 UNDP/UDG, UNOPS, RRD of Bamyan and MoLSAMD prepared another independent report in which all the concerned parties agreed the minor repairs required for the Bamyan VTC as a short term measure. For the longer term JICA or MoLSAMD have been advised to construct a new replacement building elsewhere in Bamyan, with due regard to it not being built next to natural hazards like the river.
As per the above report conclusions both JICA and MoLSAMD formally requested UNDP/UDG to undertake only minor repairs to Bamyan VTC. These were addressed and the building is scheduled to be handed over to the government in October 2008.
4. Construction and renovation activities in Herat and Gardiz provinces:
The construction and renovation work of Gardiz and Herat were 100% completed. However, at the beginning of Gardiz vocational training center project, there were difficulties with the contractor. As UNDP/UDG undertook close supervision and monitoring, the quality of construction work improved significantly and these initial problems were overcome. The head of the Gardiz training center expressed his satisfaction of the renovation and construction works completed for the Gardiz VTC; and the building was successfully handed over to the government.
5. Construction and renovation work of Kabul, Jowzjan, Mazar and Kundoz VTCs:
Jowzjan VTCs project work was also 100% completed with all requirements of the donor addressed. However, during this quarter the construction work was suspended for 20 days as the head of the VTC wanted the roof of the VTC building to be of Isogum (asphalt). In fact the bills of quantity for roof repairs did not include this specification. Finally as per the decision of the project board, it was decided that USD 20,000 to be transferred from Banyan surplus budget to Jowzjan. In accordance with UNDP procurement policy and as per this decision the bidding documents were prepared and advertised through UNDP web site and 13 construction companies submitted quotations. Based on UNDP procurement policy Marshal Construction Company was technically qualified with the lowest cost and was selected to install Isogum (asphalt) for the VTC. This was successfully addressed and the project was completed.
The construction activities in Kundoz and Mazar were also 100% finished and were officially handed over to the local government. However, the construction activities in Mazar-e-Sharif were not proceeding in accordance with the original work plan. This was because the head of Mazar-e-Sharif VTC had requested for additional repairs to the VTC of Mazar-e-Sharif. To address this, the donor, JICA, allocated approximately USD 5,000 for the additional requested works. Another contractor was contracted by JICA. It was agreed that UNDP would only monitor the construction works. UNDP/UDG undertook this monitor of construction activities and regularly reported to JICA and Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs, Martyred and Disabled (MoLSAMD). The final BoQ was prepared by UNDP technical team and submitted to JICA for payments which was paid based on UNDP/UDG’s BoQ.
Work at the Kabul VTC was also 100% finished and is scheduled to be handed over to JICA and MoLSAMD during October 2008.
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.
The common tools and spare parts were delivered to the relevant centers; after the inspection and all items were officially handed over to the government including furniture and common tools. UNDP/UDG processed final payments to all contracted companies.
The procurement process of six generators was also completed; the supplier (Catter-Pillar) provided all 6 generators and delivered these to project sites in the provinces.
One sample of furniture was prepared and kept at in the VCT in Kabul. The inspection team approved the sample and the supplier provided all furniture as per the sample and delivered these to all nine provinces.
Partnerships and Resources:
Total Budget: USD 2,056,031
Funded: Japan
Contacts:
Fernando Dacruz, UDG Programme Manager (fernando.dacruz@undp.org)
Mirwais Sarah, Programme Officer (mirwais.sarah@undp.org)
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