London: The future of an enormous hydroelectric turbine dragged through insurgency-hit Afghanistan by several thousand British troops for a major energy project is now in doubt, a report said on Monday.
NATO forces are unable to secure a road leading to the dam in unstable Helmand province so that workers can finish the project, the Guardian said.
The mission to deliver the turbine and equipment to Kajaki dam was hailed last year as a major achievement for British forces deployed in Helmand, while the project was meant to eventually generate power for the country`s south.
But the newspaper said 15 months after the successful mission, the turbine`s components remain unassembled because huge amounts of cement required to install the equipment cannot be delivered safely.
The United States Agency for International Development, which has so far pumped USD 47 million (GBP 29 million) into the project, says it is packing up the turbine parts, the paper said.
It was now looking for other energy projects to invest in across Afghanistan, it said.
"Our message is that until we have a secure road we cannot continue with the installation of turbine two," said John Smith-Sreen, head of energy and water projects in USAID in Kabul.
PTI
