The Task Force for Business and Stability Operations (TFBSO) (click here) was
established in 2006 in Iraq to assist in revitalizing that country’s
economy and creating jobs. In 2010, TFBSO began operations in
Afghanistan aimed at creating economic opportunities for people in order
to increase stability, reduce violence, and restore economic normalcy
in areas suffering from unrest and insurgency.
DAI is aiding the TFBSO in Afghanistan in establishing a private equity
fund for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), developing an
investment pipeline to them, and facilitating targeted technical
assistance. The project will also work to facilitate larger investment
opportunities for larger Afghan enterprises....
Engineers in Pakistan have built a similar facility for one half a million dollars US. The TFBSO is not conducting good business. There is no reason to continue that serve. Afghanistan can always ask for loans to have the locals build a facility they value. There is a good chance the people won't value this and it will become a target rather than a project bringing pride to the people.
The people have no vested interest in a project erected by foreign contractors. That money could be used once again for the DOD budget.
November 2, 2015
By Lee Ferran
Engineers in Pakistan have built a similar facility for one half a million dollars US. The TFBSO is not conducting good business. There is no reason to continue that serve. Afghanistan can always ask for loans to have the locals build a facility they value. There is a good chance the people won't value this and it will become a target rather than a project bringing pride to the people.
The people have no vested interest in a project erected by foreign contractors. That money could be used once again for the DOD budget.
November 2, 2015By Lee Ferran
American taxpayers (click here) are on the hook for a $43 million gas station
constructed in Afghanistan -- a price tag that’s about $42.5 million
higher than it should’ve been, and the Department of Defense can’t explain why, according to a new government report.
“The DOD charged the American taxpayer $43 million for what is likely
the world’s most expensive gas station,” Special Inspector General for
Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John Sopko said, ahead of the release
of the SIGAR report today. “DOD spent $43 million on the gas station,
without determining it would be a good idea, and now claims it knows
nothing about the project.”
The SIGAR report
details the planning and construction of a compressed natural gas (CNG)
station in the Afghan city of Sheberghan, part of a larger Downstream
Gas Utilization Project designed to take advantage of Afghanistan’s
natural gas reserves. The gas station itself was meant to prove that CNG
stations were a viable alternative to imported petroleum for Afghan
vehicles....
