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Contracts worth over $6.5 billion signed to kick-start mining sector
Contracts worth $6.557 billion for seven large-scale mines were signed on Thursday, August 31, between the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and various companies.
These contracts were signed in the presence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghansitan’s Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund.
The contracts involved four sections of the major iron ore mine in Ghorian district in Herat Province.
The company that secured the contract for the first section was Watan Darakhshan Company and its subsidiary Azaran Industrial Structures Company.
Sahil Middle East Mining & Logistics Company and its Afghan and Turkish partners, Dara-e-Noor and Epcol respectively, were awarded the contract for the second section.
Shamsh, an Afghan company, along with British companies GBM and AD Resources, were awarded the contract for the third block.
The fourth contract went to Bakhtar Steel Company and its Iranian partners Ahya Sepahan and Parsian.
In addition, the contract for one section of the lead and zinc mine in Tulak district of Ghor province was awarded to Afghan Invest Company.
The contract to excavate gold from the Samti mine in Chah Ab district of Takhar province was awarded to the China-Afghanistan Company with Zarawar Afghanistan Private Company being the shareholder; and a contract for the second Mes Aynak mine in Logar province was awarded to Turia Private Company.
A total of $6.557 billion will be invested in these seven projects, which will collectively create thousands of jobs.
This comes just days after the acting minister of mines and petroleum Shahabuddin Delawar met with Wang Jiarui, the general director of China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), which has the contract to mine copper at Mes Aynak.
Delawar and Wang discussed operational details as well as issues around the archaeological site, which still contains buried artifacts.
Delawar said at the meeting that the Aynak copper mine project was a key priority for the IEA and that their main goal is to get the mining sector up and running.
“The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is committed to putting this project into operation as soon as possible, so that its practical work begins and job opportunities are created for the people,” he said.
Seven Afghan migrants have been killed after a vehicle carrying Afghan migrants collided with a fuel-carrying vehicle in Iran’s Sistan and Baluchestan province.
According to the human rights organization HalVash, the accident occurred on Friday in the Sarbaz area of Sistan and Baluchestan.
Siyavash Mohbi, the head of Iran’s traffic police in Sistan and Baluchestan, said the Afghan nationals had entered Iran illegally.
He added that nine other people were injured in the incident.
Mohbi attributed the accident to the negligence of the driver of the vehicle carrying the migrants.
The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has announced that its Contact Group on Afghanistan will meet on the sidelines of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
OIC Secretary-General Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed is leading a high-level delegation from the organization’s General Secretariat to participate in the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week and hold bilateral meetings with heads of delegations from member states as well as senior UN and international officials.
The OIC will also convene its Annual Coordination Meeting of Member States’ Foreign Ministers at UN Headquarters.
According to the organization, several ministerial contact groups and specialized committees will meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly. These include groups focusing on Palestine, Muslim communities and minorities, regional issues in Europe, Jammu and Kashmir, Rohingya Muslims in Myanmar, and Afghanistan.
The OIC did not provide a specific date for the Afghanistan Contact Group meeting.
Ahmad Jan Bilal, General Director of State-Owned Corporations, met with Iran’s Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad during a visit to Iran to discuss expanding cooperation in the oil and gas sector.
Bilal, accompanied by Mohammad Nasir Rahimi, chief executive of the Afghan state-owned Oil and Gas Corporation, held talks with the Iranian minister on supplying Afghanistan with its oil and gas needs, technical and vocational training, and joint cooperation in oil and gas exploration.
Bilal and his delegation also visited the Iranian Oil Ministry’s research center and oil refineries in Tehran, where they reviewed the facilities’ technical and professional activities and capabilities.
The Iranian side expressed readiness for comprehensive cooperation, necessary coordination and implementation of joint projects in the areas discussed.
At the end of the meeting, both sides introduced joint technical teams tasked with coordinating and following up on the necessary measures to implement the agreed areas of cooperation.
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