Gardez airport reopens after more than a decade

Representatives of the United Nations, the Afghan government and Coalition forces have gathered at a newly-rebuilt airstrip on the outskirts of the south-eastern city of Gardez for the official opening of Gardez Airport. The airport provides the first air access to the region since Soviet forces left the airstrip strewn with wrecked armoured vehicles and artillery. The reconstruction project was jointly funded by the World Bank, United Sates Agency for International Development through the area’s Coalition-run Provincial Reconstruction Team, and had a price tag of over 500,000 US dollars.