The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has announced that it is providing a grant of US$2 million to assist in the establishment of an Inter-ministerial Commission for Energy (ICE) in Afghanistan. According to an ADP press release on 1 February 2007, the Commission will help the Government optimize the country's energy resource use and management to meet increasing power demands. With all aspects of Afghanistan's energy sectors devastated over the last couple of decades of turmoil, development in the country is severely constrained by lack of power.

"There has been significant international assistance to Afghanistan's energy sector, but most of this has been for rebuilding of damaged infrastructure rather than improving technical, financial, legal, and commercial skills," says Robert Rinker, an ADB Senior Project Management Specialist. "The establishment of ICE will fill a large void to help the Government understand, support, design, and monitor energy development based on commercial principles. It will have oversight of energy sector policy and infrastructure investments and coordinate support from development partners."

ICE will bring together a wide array of government and donor interests to assure coordinated action and practical planning. It will not be responsible for project implementation but will develop sound policy in line with fiscal and policy priorities and international standards. The grant project will support the full establishment of ICE and the formation of a commercial advisory team within the Commission that will assist the Government in identifying energy investments and shaping ongoing projects. It will also assist the Government in paperwork and agreements to stimulate private sector investment.

The total cost of the technical assistance project is estimated at $2.3 million, of which the Government will contribute $300,000 to finance counterpart staff, office expenses, and other costs. The Ministry of Finance will be executing agency for the project, which is due for completion around February 2009.

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is a multilateral development financial institution owned by 66 members, 47 from the region and 19 from other parts of the globe. The work of the ADB is aimed at improving the welfare of the people in Asia and the Pacific, particularly the 1.9 billion who live on less than $2 a day. Despite many success stories, Asia and the Pacific remains home to two thirds of the world's poor. ADB's vision is a region free of poverty. Its mission is to help its developing member countries reduce poverty and improve the quality of life of their citizens.

ADB's main instruments are policy dialogue, loans, technical assistance, grants, guarantees, and equity investments. ADB's annual lending volume is typically about $6 billion, with technical assistance usually totaling about $180 million a year. With a headquarters in Manila, ADB has 26 other offices around the world, including 19 resident missions in Asia; 3 sub-regional offices in the Pacific; representative offices in Frankfurt for Europe, Tokyo for Japan, and Washington, DC for North America; and a special liaison office in Timor-Leste. The ADB has more than 2,000 employees from over 50 countries. The ADB Headquarters are located at 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City 1550, Philippines. For additional information visit http://www.adb.org/.