Afghan government officials on Wednesday inaugurated the construction of a major irrigation canal, named Qosh Tepa, in the north of the country.

The inauguration ceremony in Balkh province was attended by senior government officials including Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar as well as the acting ministers of commerce, agriculture, information and frontiers.

In his address at the ceremony, Baradar said that the inauguration of the project was a step toward self-reliance. He called on the public to support the government in the implementation of infrastructure projects.

“The project is of great importance and it would greatly help the agriculture sector. People should support the project. We will provide any kind of support needed in the agriculture sector. We do not want to be dependent on others,” Baradar said.

Meanwhile, the acting minister of agriculture, irrigation and livestock said that Afghanistan was still an economically occupied country, as he referred to the issue of frozen assets in the United States.

“The enemy has economically occupied us as our funds are not in our hands. We should get rid of the economic occupation. We had a lot of water, but it was not being managed, it was being used by others. We should manage our waters,” Minister Abdul Rahman Rashid said.

Acting Minister of Frontiers and Tribal Affairs Noorullah Noori said that now that the security situation has improved in Afghanistan, there should be efforts for reconstruction of the country and its economic development.

Acting Minister of Commerce and Industry Nooruddin Azizi said that the irrigation scheme would cover more than 50,000 hectares of land. He said that the project would also help reduce imports of commodities such as wheat and oil.

Khairullah Kahiwkhwa, the acting minister of information and culture, said that no government will provide aid to Afghanistan unless they have political interests. “Therefore, we all should work for an Afghanistan that is no longer dependent on other countries and we should become self-reliant.”

Qosh Tepa irrigation canal covers 285 kilometers, beginning from Amu River in Balkh province, passing through Jowzjan and ending in Faryab.

The project has three phases. The first phase is 108 kilometers, which is expected to be implemented over the next year. The second and third phase, which combined makes up 177 kilometers, is expected to be completed within five years. The irrigation scheme has a catchment area of 550,000 hectares.