Canada plans to spend $31.8 million on rural development projects in the volatile province of Kandahar in southern Afghanistan.
About 135 projects will be funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, it was announced Tuesday at the governor's palace in Kandahar.
Much of the money will be used to rebuild water reservoirs and canals in Kandahar, hit hard by years of fighting and more recently by clashes between the Taliban and Canadian troops.
Villages in the province had presented proposals for 653 projects, but only about 135 were chosen.
Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Afghan minister of rural rehabilitation and development, told tribal elders that foreign countries want to see Afghans move away from poppy cultivation.
Zia said support for reconstruction projects depends upon a willingness by Afghans to find new ways of making money.
Canada has said it will spend close to $1 billion over 10 years in Afghanistan to rebuild the country, reduce poverty and enable the Afghan government to establish its authority.
Canada has set up an embassy in Kabul, as part of its mission in Afghanistan, and has more than 2,000 troops stationed in Kandahar.
Forty-four Canadian soldiers have died since Canada first sent troops to the country in early 2002.
Copyright © 2007 CBC
About 135 projects will be funded by the Canadian International Development Agency, it was announced Tuesday at the governor's palace in Kandahar.
Much of the money will be used to rebuild water reservoirs and canals in Kandahar, hit hard by years of fighting and more recently by clashes between the Taliban and Canadian troops.
Villages in the province had presented proposals for 653 projects, but only about 135 were chosen.
Mohammad Ehsan Zia, Afghan minister of rural rehabilitation and development, told tribal elders that foreign countries want to see Afghans move away from poppy cultivation.
Zia said support for reconstruction projects depends upon a willingness by Afghans to find new ways of making money.
Canada has said it will spend close to $1 billion over 10 years in Afghanistan to rebuild the country, reduce poverty and enable the Afghan government to establish its authority.
Canada has set up an embassy in Kabul, as part of its mission in Afghanistan, and has more than 2,000 troops stationed in Kandahar.
Forty-four Canadian soldiers have died since Canada first sent troops to the country in early 2002.
Copyright © 2007 CBC