Afghanistan’s water reserves have dropped to 69 billion cubic meters per year

Afghanistan’s water reserves, which were estimated at 75 billion cubic meters in the past, have now dropped to 69 billion cubic meters, the Ministry of Water and Energy said on Monday.

Ministry officials emphasized that they have many plans for the future and in the past year, in cooperation with foreign organizations, they have implemented 360 projects in the country, which include the construction of dams, canals and other water projects.

“Afghanistan’s annual amount of water was estimated at 75 billion cubic meters. Due to climate changes that have negative effects on water resources, this figure has decreased to 69 billion cubic meters. We want surface and underground water to be properly managed,” Mujib-ur-Rahman Omarzada, deputy minister of water and energy, said in a press conference in Kabul.

Officials also said they are committed to securing Iran’s rights in accordance with the 1973 agreement, and whenever neighboring countries raise concerns about rights, they are ready to discuss the issue taking international laws into consideration.

They added that they have more than 400 projects to manage the country’s waters and want to increase the amount of electricity production inside the country.

“Our focus is that we can complete the 500 kV power transmission project next year and facilitate the transfer of 1,000 megawatts of electricity from Turkmenistan to Afghanistan at a low rate,” Farhad Mahmoudi, head of programs of the Ministry of Water and Energy, said.