The government is to donate money to help finance a portion of the start-up operational costs of the Afghan interim authority, estimated at between US$15 to US$20 million over six months, a government official said Tuesday.

The official continued that the UK, Germany and Italy will contribute US$2 million each and the US will donate US$1 million for bridge-phase funding of the war-ravaged country, while South Korea's expense share will be determined after further discussion.

In addition, the government will determine the size of donation for Afghanistan reconstruction, which will cost a total of some US$9 billion over the next five years, before an international conference on restoration and reconstruction of the country, scheduled for January 20 in Tokyo, with delegations of some 40 nations and over 10 international organization including the United Nations attending.

According to a United Nations Development Program report, the project costs will range between US$10 and US$20 billion over the next 10 years, among which US$4 to US$5 billion will be required during the first two and a half years.

(Heo Yong-beom, heo@chosun.com )