KABUL, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Afghanistan's General Statistics and Information Authority (GSIA) has, for the first time, established the full extent of the country's road network at 245,072 kilometers, the authority announced on Tuesday.
According to the agency, only 18,241 km, or 7.4 percent, are paved roads, while the remaining are unpaved. The nationwide assessment also recorded 4,747 bridges, 8,681 culverts and 854 flood crossings.
GSIA stated that the newly verified figures will serve as a critical reference for strategic road-network planning and expansion, infrastructure rehabilitation, disaster-risk management and the prioritization of future development projects. ■