Province 14 of 34 | Central

Kabul کابل

Kabul is dominated by the city market, so ARMO deliberately looks to the rural belt of Shomali, Surobi and Musahi, where peri-urban growers need wholesale access without entering city congestion.

Capital: Kabul
Region: Central
Area: 4,687 km²
Population 2025–26: 6,173,494
Density: 1,317 per km²
Districts: 15

Map of candidate marketplace sites and their road catchments in Kabul — Orange pin: candidate site. Olive shading: 60-minute catchment (dotted line: 30 minutes). Square: provincial center. Circle: existing market. Brown shading: population density.

US$ 8.4 million

base-case annual turnover (range US$ 4.2 million to US$ 12.5 million)

34,820

producer households benefit commercially (249,546 get market access within 60 min)

11,908

underserved rural people get market access within 60 min

226

direct jobs, base case (+362 indirect jobs)

Potential marketplace network Estimated

1Kalakan District center

District: Kalakan

Aggregation hub linking to wholesale buyers

To nearest existing market: 25 km, 32 min

Producer HH within 60 min: 227,975

34.7606, 69.1742
2Surobi District center

District: Surobi

Aggregation hub linking to wholesale buyers

To nearest existing market: 26 km, 63 min

Producer HH within 60 min: 28,150

34.5294, 69.7032

#	Site	District	Likely role	Lat, Lon	To nearest existing market	Producer HH within 60 min
1	Kalakan District center	Kalakan	Aggregation hub linking to wholesale buyers	34.7606, 69.1742	25 km 32 min	227,975
2	Surobi District center	Surobi	Aggregation hub linking to wholesale buyers	34.5294, 69.7032	26 km 63 min	28,150

Local products and producer groups Strong secondary

Vegetables
Grape (Shomali)
Apricot & mulberry
Dairy & poultry
Wheat

Farming system: Irrigated horticulture (US$ 950 sales per participating household)

Producer groups: smallholder farmers, livestock and dairy keepers, household enterprises, small processors and traders

Crafts: Pottery (Istalif), embroidery

Market catchment and accessibility Estimated

Site	HH within 30 min	HH 30–60 min	HH 60–90 min	Producer HH within 60 min	Commercially addressable	Underserved
1 Kalakan	53,989	824,185	88,617	227,975	28,681	0%
2 Surobi	7,879	27,340	749,372	28,150	6,747	5%

HH = households of 7.7 people (ALCS 2016–17). The primary indicator is producer households within 60 minutes by road. Underserved % is the share of rural people within 60 minutes of the candidate site who are currently more than 60 minutes from an existing market. Commercially addressable households refer to producer HH.

Infrastructure requirements

Road accessEstimated
Current situation: No site on a main road; all reached by rural roads or tracks
All-weather access road, hard-standing and turning area for trucks
ElectricityStrong secondary
Current situation: Grid reaches about 40% of Afghans nationally; rural sites mostly off-grid
Solar plus battery for lighting, weighing, phone charging and cold rooms; grid tie where a line passes
Solar potentialStrong secondary
Current situation: About 300 sunny days a year; high irradiance nationwide
Rooftop PV on market sheds (indicative 20 to 60 kWp per site)
Internet & mobileAssumption
Current situation: Mobile connections equal 52% of the population; district centers usually covered
Mobile money and price-information kiosk; verify signal on site
Dry storageEstimated
Current situation: Few formal stores outside provincial centers
Warehouse for vegetables, grape (shomali) with pallets and pest control
Cold storageEstimated
Current situation: Rare outside major cities
Solar cold room or evaporative store for fruit, vegetables and dairy
Water, sanitation & loadingAssumption
Current situation: Not assessed at site level
Borehole, washing area, separate latrines for women and men; loading bays, livestock pens, certified scales

Infrastructure	Current situation	Requirement	Evidence status
Road access	No site on a main road; all reached by rural roads or tracks	All-weather access road, hard-standing and turning area for trucks	Estimated
Electricity	Grid reaches about 40% of Afghans nationally; rural sites mostly off-grid	Solar plus battery for lighting, weighing, phone charging and cold rooms; grid tie where a line passes	Strong secondary
Solar potential	About 300 sunny days a year; high irradiance nationwide	Rooftop PV on market sheds (indicative 20 to 60 kWp per site)	Strong secondary
Internet & mobile	Mobile connections equal 52% of the population; district centers usually covered	Mobile money and price-information kiosk; verify signal on site	Assumption
Dry storage	Few formal stores outside provincial centers	Warehouse for vegetables, grape (shomali) with pallets and pest control	Estimated
Cold storage	Rare outside major cities	Solar cold room or evaporative store for fruit, vegetables and dairy	Estimated
Water, sanitation & loading	Not assessed at site level	Borehole, washing area, separate latrines for women and men; loading bays, livestock pens, certified scales	Assumption

Economic opportunity and employment Estimated Assumption

Scenario	Participation	Producer sales	Other trading	Total turnover	Direct jobs	Indirect jobs
Low	10%	US$ 3.4 million	US$ 886,000	US$ 4.2 million	133	213
Base	20%	US$ 6.7 million	US$ 1.8 million	US$ 8.4 million	226	362
High	30%	US$ 10.1 million	US$ 2.7 million	US$ 12.5 million	318	509

Site columns are summed. The total is de-duplicated where catchments overlap.

Evidence

Population: strong secondary province totals, estimated catchments. Travel time: estimated from the OpenStreetMap road model. Products: strong secondary. Turnover and jobs: assumption parameters applied to estimated households. Site conditions: unknown until field validation.

Open these pages in the PDF (35–36) | Method, assumptions and sources