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Troops fend off Afghan insurgents to deliver crucial turbine: NATO
Kabul (AFP) Sept 2, 2008 Four thousand troops fought off insurgents in one of Afghanistan's most unstable regions to deliver a massive electric turbine to the country's biggest power station Tuesday, NATO officials said. The 200-tonne turbine was delivered to Kajaki dam despite the convoy coming under attack, General Richard Blanchette, spokesman for the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, told AFP, but he did not say how many or what casualties were involved. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said in a statement that "transporting and protecting the turbine through difficult and potentially dangerous terrain was a massive undertaking. "It is yet another example of the skill and courage of our forces, but also a reminder of the fundamental purpose of why they are there -- the long-term development of Afghanistan, giving the people a stake in the future." The troops were headed for the Kajaki hydro-electric power dam, built more than 30 years ago, to repair one of its two existing turbines and install a third, allowing it to generate enough power to serve much of the country's south. Paths were specially built for the device, which was accompanied on its 180-kilometre (110-mile) journey from the Pakistani border by 2,000 British soldiers, while the remainder were from the Afghan National Security Force, the United States, Denmark, Canada and Australia, Britain's defence ministry said. The turbine project, which has been funded by the United States Agency for International Development, will provide some 1.5 million Afghans in the south of the country with electricity and irrigation, once fully operational, the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in London added. It will be able to produce around 18.5 megawatts of renewable energy, in addition to the dam's current 16.5 megawatt capacity. "This is a significant military operation which demonstrates that our strategy of delivering civil effect is making progress in southern Afghanistan," said Lieutenant Colonel David Reynolds, spokesman for Britain's troop deployment in the restive southern Helmand province. "Ultimately, success in Afghanistan is about more than defeating the Taliban or the absence of fighting. It's also about creating jobs, security and economic development." Work will now begin on Afghanistan's electricity distribution network, the MoD said, so that the energy created by the Kajaki dam project can be passed on to various cities in Helmand. burs-psr/rt Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
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