Tractors Donated and Bridge Dedicated in Kandahar Province

COMBINED FORCES COMMAND – AFGHANISTAN
KABUL, AFGHANISTAN
Relase # Feature


By Army Maj. Nancy A. Hansen
345th Mobile Public Affairs Detachment

PANJWAYI, Afghanistan – The village of Panjwayi received four new tractors and trailers from the U.S. National Command Element during a ceremony at the district center Dec. 10. In a separate ceremony the same day, the U.S. NCE dedicated the Loywala Canal Bridge in Kandahar city.

Approximately $100,000 from the U.S. Commander’s Emergency Response Program was used to purchase the tractors to help local farmers in Panjwayi harvest the land and increase the crop production.

The Loywala Bridge, also a U.S. CERP funded project, cost approximately $57,000 and was recently completed. The bridge spans a deep canal which during the winter season is filled water.

“Residents on one side of the bridge had to go more than 10 miles out of their way to get around the canal,” explained Lt. Col. Raleigh Jones, U.S. advisor with the 405th Civil Affairs Battalion.

“Now there is a two-lane bridge with a 4-foot pedestrian walkway,” said Jones, whose hometown is Anderson, S.C.

Both the bridge project and tractor donations are among the final projects for the 405th Civil Affairs unit in the Kandahar province.