Paul Flynn – 2014 Parliamentary Question to the Ministry of Defence

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Paul Flynn on 2014-05-07.

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, what estimate he has made of the cost of the work done on the Kajaki Dam project in Afghanistan; and if he will make a statement.

Mr Mark Francois

The Kandahar Helmand Power Project to enhance the electrical power output of the Kajaki Dam is not funded by the Ministry of Defence (MOD), but by the US Agency for International Development and the US Army Corps of Engineers. The MOD is therefore unable to provide a thorough estimate of costs. In 2008, the UK’s 16 Air Assault Brigade provided protection for the movement of a turbine to Kajaki. By the end of 2014, the project aims to deliver reliable, sustainable electricity to around two million people in Kandahar and Helmand, and to support the continued development of the regional South-East Power System (SEPS) power grid.