BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - The Afghanistan Builders Association hit a benchmark with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the authority to certify material testing laboratories passed from USACE to the ABA in Kabul, Oct. 27, 2014.
For the first time since 2001, an Afghan organization will have the authority to ensure building material testing standards are met by Afghan labs, which the USACE will rely on for future projects in Afghanistan.
"The Afghanistan Builders Association is a non-profit organization that supports the interests of the construction engineering industry within Afghanistan which is a very important industry," said Col. D. Peter Helmlinger, a native of Tacoma, Washington, and commander of USACE Transatlantic Afghanistan District. "Currently, that industry represents 50 percent of the gross domestic product for Afghanistan."
By transitioning this authority, we are helping Afghanistan gain self sufficiency, said Ross Foster, a native of Denver, who works for USACE. He is hopeful this transition will give the ABA a lot of momentum to continue rebuilding Afghanistan.
"We've worked with approximately 400 Afghan engineers working directly for USACE," said Foster. "We've been able to gauge what their skill sets are, what their abilities are and what their capabilities are. We knew this was a good time to give the ABA this authority because we knew they were capable."
The ABA was founded with help from USAID in 2004 and has been a long-time partner with USACE. Together the ABA and USACE have developed programs for businesses owned by women, management training and training to certify quality control managers for construction sites around Afghanistan.
The ABA also serves as a bridge between construction companies and policy makers in the government, said Abdullah Habibzai, an ABA consultant and assistant professor in Kabul University's engineering department. He said the ABA ensures the voice of construction workers reaches the ears of those in government and said they are working to have the government broaden the requirements and standards for testing, quality control and safety for construction projects.
"We hope this will be a start for the government of Afghanistan to require materials testing on all public works projects that are financed though Afghanistan, and we hope that commercial enterprise within Afghanistan will use the ABA certified laboratories to ensure the quality of their facilities," said Helmlinger.
The ABA has over 500 members from all over the construction industry. Their aim is to support Afghan companies in the reconstruction of Afghanistan after so many years of war. According to their mission statement, they will continue to promote and enhance the integrity and visibility of the construction industry through advocacy, communication, education and professional development in order to improve quality and sustainable economic growth.
"I'm really proud of this," said Habibzai. "I've been leading this process for the ABA to satisfy USACE, to show that we have the capability to handle this. I would like to thank the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the people of the United States for their generosity. Without them it would not be possible to be at this level this quickly."
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