WASHINGTON, Sept 29: The Pentagon notified Congress on Tuesday of plans to build five bases in Afghanistan for the Afghan National Army at a cost of up to one billion dollars.

The Pentagon said Afghanistan had requested the bases be built for the Afghan army's Central Corps in Kabul and four regional commands planned in Gardez, Kandahar, Herat and Mazar-i-Sharif.

"The total value, if all options are exercised, could be as high as one billion dollars," the Pentagon's Defence Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) said in a statement. The description provided to Congress indicated that plans call for building a base in Kabul with training barracks, medical and dining facilities. -AFP