KABUL -- Complaints over delays in the delivery and distribution of promised international assistance to Afghanistan are growing in a country where money is likely the key ingredient to continued peace.

International donors who met in Tokyo at the beginning of the year promised $1.8 billion in assistance this year, but the Afghan Authority for the Coordination of Assistance (AACA) estimates that just $600 million has been disbursed so far.

The United States, European Union, Germany and Japan have been quickest to open their wallets, but Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates -- two of only three nations who granted diplomatic recognition to the Taleban -- have been slow to make good on their promises.

In mid-August Afghanistan's Minister for Finance Ashraf Ghani bemoaned the fact that there was still "a significant gap" between pledges and the amount of money received.

Meanwhile, Minister for Planning Mohamed Mohaqeq expressed his concern last week about the amount of assistance being distributed outside of the control of the central government in Kabul.

His concern was seen as an expression of the frustration of many of the leaders of the fledgling central government in Kabul, who see their nation-building ambitions as being given short shrift by the international community.

The same concerns were expressed Wednesday by Turkish General Akin Zorlu, commander of the International Security Assistance Force which is in charge of the capital's security.

He said international assistance "must be distributed through the central government to reinforce its position," an assertion he repeated several times during a press conference on Wednesday.

Meanwhile, within the Kabul government's AACA, a unit has been created to try to coordinate projects funded by donors in accordance with the priorities of the Afghan authorities.

The unit's head Aiden Cox considers his work as a "bridge" between international donors and Afghanistan's interim administration.

"There is very little money which goes directly to the ministries because projects are often implemented directly by the donors.

"To be fair, we need to reform the ministries, because donors do not have too much confidence in the capacity of the ministries to manage the money," he said.

The $600 million received, he explained, has been distributed across three basic categories.

Firstly $100 million in direct contribution to the current budget, which was drawn up at $460 million for the year but includes $83 million in receipts from taxes and customs duties.

The majority of the $100 million is to be used to pay Afghanistan's civil servants.

Secondly, approximately $300 million has been disbursed for humanitarian aid, and thirdly approximately $200 million has been allocated for the rebuilding of Afghanistan's shattered infrastructure.

Some $600 million had already been donated before the March meeting in Tokyo, of which 90 percent went to direct humanitarian aid, AFP quote Cox as saying.

But he noted the balance was changing -- humanitarian aid still consumes the majority of donated funds, but the proportion for reconstruction is rising.

According to diplomatic sources, Japanese aid for reconstruction now exceeds that allocated for humanitarian needs.

Other criticism, most often the complaints of ordinary Afghans relayed through local newspapers, concerns what many see as the extravagance of bodies like the United Nations.

One government source who requested anonymity said the UN and NGOs had spent $90 million setting up their operations in Afghanistan.