KABUL, April 30: Aga Khan Cultural Services (Afghanistan), a newly established affiliate of the Aga Khan Trust for Culture (AKTC), will lead the revitalisation of a significant but currently degraded urban area in central Kabul around the historic Timur Shah Mausoleum.

Under an agreement signed in Kabul on Tuesday with the Government of Afghanistan and the Municipality of Kabul, the AKTC will help provide area planning, conduct physical and social surveys, mobilize technical and financial support and undertake conservation work on the historic urban fabric of the City of Kabul in District 1, as well as landscaping and environmental improvement. The agreement also foresees the provision of micro- credit to the population of the designated preservation zone by a national micro-finance institution being considered by the Aga Khan Development Network.

Central to the project will be intensive consultation with residents, tenants, owners and community groups in the neighbourhoods concerned. An advisory board with representatives of the municipality, concerned government departments and the AKTC will oversee the consultative planning process. Throughout this process redevelopment on a case-by-case basis will be encouraged without compromising the quality of the final outcome.