Features

DEVASIA: Building Back Better after the Afghanistan Floods

In 2014, massive floods destroyed farmlands and agricultural infrastructure in Afghanistan. A project constructed flood-resilient roads and irrigation facilities, collaborating with community development councils on rehabilitation activities. Within 3 years, it restored about 100,000 hectares of flood-affected irrigable area and repaired roads and bridges spanning more than 132,000 meters. (Photo credit: ADB)

Enhancing road safety with intelligent transport system technology

An efficient transport system is fundamental to any country’s economic growth. As the efficiency of the transport system improves, positive economic growth can be expected, and this in turn can lead to a better quality of life and enhanced living standards.

How To Get There? In Afghanistan, It’s As Simple As Putting ‘There’ On The Map

A World Bank geographer marshaled satellite imagery and an eager volunteer force of Afghans and students to help put remote, needy regions of Afghanistan literally on the map.

Improving Regional Cooperation to Better Manage Disaster Risks in Central Asia

In Central Asia, a vast region that includes Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, natural disasters can come in many forms – from persistent floods and droughts to rapid-onset events such as earthquakes, avalanches, and landslides.

How to Develop Tourism in Tajikistan?

An interview with Andrea Dall’Olio, Lead Financial Sector Economist at the World Bank, about Tajikistan’s tourism potential and what the country can do to respond to increasing international tourist demand.

Regional cooperation and integration holds great potential for Pakistan’s economic growth and development prospects

ADB CWRC Director Safdar Parvez Safdar Parvez highlighted the opportunities Pakistan can capitalize on from CAREC, including reforms and opening up of Central Asia; improvements in connectivity and trade facilitation; large potential for transit trade and revenue generation; and prospects for peace and stability in Afghanistan.

Expanding food trade in Central Asia through modernizing sanitary and phytosanitary measures

Agriculture and livestock exports present huge opportunities for countries in Central Asia. However, countries in the region face significant problems related to sanitary (animals) and phytosanitary (plants) standards, which currently do not meet the quality-control requirements of many countries. (Photo credit: World Bank)

The race between education and technology in Europe and Central Asia

While enrollment in tertiary education worldwide has gone up threefold since 1970, the overall returns to education–the benefits to individuals and society from investment in education–have not changed during the past 5 decades.

Getting it right on railways

Lining up rights-of-way for megaprojects, such as railways and highways, in crowded places is challenging but it can be done with an imaginative and respectful plan.

Road Upgrade Improves School Environment and Living Conditions in Kabul Neighborhood

Until recently, schoolchildren faced daily challenges reaching their neighborhood school in Kabul because of the poor state of the street leading to the school. The children and neighborhood residents now enjoy clean streets, less pollution, and lower transport costs thanks to the efforts of Kabul Municipality under the Kabul Municipality Development Program.