A luxury housing development under
construction by developer Haji
Hafizullah Caravan in a suburb of K
Afghanistan.
By Jamieson Lesko, Producer, NBC
News
KABUL, Afghanistan -- High-rise condos
and luxury dwellings with price tags that
wouldn't be out of place in many U.S.
cities are reshaping the Afghan capital's
skyline.
Mud-brick homes precariously stacked
on hillsides now peer down at cranes as
the counterintuitive construction boom
extends from suburban dream homes to
slick shopping malls and office
complexes.
Despite some grim predictions about the
country's future when Western forces
withdraw next year, wealthy Afghans are
throwing caution to the wind and
investing millions of their own dollars to
build in grand ways that they hope will
redefine this war-torn city.
Developer Haji Hafizullah Caravan says
he has poured "tens of millions" of
dollars into a sprawling suburban
housing complex which features 500
luxury homes and apartments.
“When Kabul was destroyed, it brought
me a lot of pain," said Caravan, recalling
the despair of the country's civil war in
the 1990s. “I prayed that one day I
would have the strength to change this
destruction to construction. I made the
decision to rebuild Kabul.”
And rebuild he has. Caravan beams with
pride as he speaks of the $1 million-plus
home he’s building for his family within
the neighborhood. A grand staircase
greets visitors from two sides as they
enter its foyer. Crystal chandeliers hang
in the spacious dining room. A large
swimming pool and cascade fountain
adorn the backyard. The bathrooms
boast multi-jet spa showers, a striking
feature for a capital city plagued with
open sewers.
“It is the most beautiful house in Kabul,”
he said. “I want to show it to the world!”
If you build it, they will come
Caravan, 53, is putting his fortune on the
line in the belief that things are about to
get better in Afghanistan, not worse.
Akbar Shinwari / NBC News
A grand staircase at the personal h
of developer Haji Hafizullah Carava
a suburb of Kabul, Afghanistan. "It i
most beautiful house in Kabul," Car
boasted. "I want to show it to the
world!"
Saleem Caravan City, the suburban gated
community he's building in the east of
Kabul, is showcased with ads on
television and YouTube.
In an animated promotional video, a
"fembot" voice takes prospective owners
on a virtual tour, challenging them to
"discover a new art of living" in "dream
houses" that are "models of
contemporary-style aesthetics."
Set to modern music, the tour soars
through models of state-of-the-art
kitchens, home cinemas and down tree-
lined streets full of upscale restaurants,
shops, a mosque and a kindergarten
school.
The homes feature six bedrooms and
three living rooms and range from
$250,000 to $300,000, depending on
how close they are to the city.
Caravan seems to ascribe to the "Field of
Dreams" theory: If you build it, they will
come.
But will they? About 50 percent of the
homes in Saleem Caravan City have been
sold, he says. But just 10 percent are
actually occupied.
"Unfortunately the 2014 rumors made
our sales a little slow. The people who
have money want to delay and not to
spend right now,” Caravan said. “But I do
not have any faith in the 2014 rumors.”
Caravan hopes to sell the rest of the
community's homes “in the next couple
of months,” but the current market
conditions are bleak.
Fears of 2014 pullout
According to realtor Mohammad Khan,
Kabul property prices have decreased as
much as 35 percent since 2011, and
prices in the rental market are down
about 55 percent.
Khan, 47, attributes this to anxiety over
whether the security situation will
deteriorate after coalition troops pull
out. Fears of chaos and civil war have
many keeping their wallets shut.
“Buyers nor sellers know what will
happen," he said.
Another factor is the current exodus of
Western aid workers and contractors, as
their projects - and the dollars that came
with them - have begun to wind down.
The compounds they used to occupy for
average rents of $12,000 - $20,000 a
month now sit vacant.
Homemade “For Sale” and “For Rent”
signs are strewn across balconies and
doorways on many streets in upscale
neighborhoods.
Akbar Shinwari / NBC News
A pool at a housing development un
construction in a suburb of Kabul,
Afghanistan.
For some, the decision to invest in
property runs far deeper than faith in
the market. Rather, it’s a patriotic duty
to give back to their homeland.
'Come back and serve your country!'
Construction company owner
Mohammad Shafiq acknowledges that it
may be less risky to invest elsewhere,
but he takes pride in his choice to build
here.
His business, the New Jan Group, has
just finished renovating a Kabul hotel
with plush amenities.
“I have made all my money here, so I
should invest here,” he said. Shafiq's
advice to Afghans is to return home.
“Nothing bad will happen in 2014, come
back and serve your country!” he
implored.
Slideshow: Afghanistan: Nation
at a crossroads
Shah Marai / AFP - Getty Images
More than ten years after the beginni
the war, Afghanistan faces external
pressure to reform as well as ongoing
internal conflicts.
Launch slideshow
Caravan echoes this sentiment, urging
investors to “not to be afraid of the
situation here."
He added: "They should take advantage
of this chance. Such a chance will not be
given to them again."
Caravan refuses to be intimidated and
doesn't fear that the resurgent Taliban
will rise to power again after the pullout.
“I invested here... I want to live here and
I want to die here,” he said. “I will leave
it to history to show who destroyed
Kabul and who rebuilt Kabul.”
NBC News' Akbar Shinwari and Khyber
Shinwari contributed to this report.
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