Business
Despite ongoing challenges Herat’s Pashdan Dam is close to completion
The Afghanistan National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (NWARA) said Friday at least 85 percent of construction work on the Pashdan Dam has so far been completed.
The dam, which made the news earlier this month after being attacked by Taliban, is one of the National Water Affairs Regulation Authority’s key projects for this solar year.
Work on the dam, on the Hari River in Karkh district of western Herat province, started 10 years ago. Once complete it will hold 40 million cubic meters of water and will generate 2MW of electricity and irrigate at least 13,000 hectares of land.
Plagued by problems, construction work at the site stopped for three years before being resumed last year but in November, reports indicated that Taliban insurgents had warned officials and workers at the dam to stop work on the project.
The group reportedly told dam officials the project had not been approved by the Taliban, so work should be stopped – which did not happen.
But earlier this month, Taliban attacked the dam, killing three security personnel, and wounding one other. Four security personnel are still missing.
NWARA officials meanwhile said that once the dam is complete, water will be fed to Herat city, where it will be used to irrigate the greenbelt around the city and supply potable water to residents.
The Afghan government is funding the $117 million (8.9 billion AFN) project.
This is one of a number of dams currently under construction in the country – to not only provide water to local communities but also to help increase power supply.
Earlier this week, another key dam was inaugurated by President Ashraf Ghani and his two deputies, Amrullah Saleh and Sarwar Danish.
The Kamal Khan dam in southern Nimroz province, was widely welcomed by residents who will also benefit from irrigation canals to help water crops.
The Kamal Khan dam will not only generate at least nine megawatts of electricity for the local community but will also irrigate over 180,000 hectares of land.
Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Abdul Salam Hanafi says Afghanistan has the potential to become one of the most important industrial centers in the region.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the national and international expo on the occasion of Industry Week, Hanafi said that the growth of industry lays the foundation for the growth of other economic sectors and that the Islamic Emirate fully supports domestic production in the country.
“Afghanistan has important and rich factors for industrial production, which can become one of the important industrial centers in the region. The growth of industry will be the basis for the growth of other economic sectors, especially agriculture,” said Hanafi.
Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, Nooruddin Azizi, added that the IEA has programs in the fields of industry development and support for the private sector that will make Afghanistan self-sufficient.
Azizi stated that Afghanistan’s industrial sector is currently progressing and the quality of export goods has also improved.
Some investors said at the ceremony that after the return of the IEA, the country’s exports have increased and the number of manufacturing companies has also increased.
This expo is open to visitors for seven days, and industrial products are showcased in 450 booths.
Women in business also attended the meeting.
Afghanistan and Pakistan have agreed on the issuance of a temporary admission document for transporters of commercial goods, Afghanistan’s Ministry of Transport and Aviation announced on Sunday.
The ministry said in an announcement that truck drivers and their assistants carrying commercial goods from Afghanistan and Pakistan must have this document with them at the crossings.
Based on the announcement, the document will be issued to Afghans at the Pakistani embassy in Kabul and its consulate in Kandahar.
For Pakistanis, the document is distributed at the office of the Afghanistan transport attaché in Peshawar and Quetta.
The Ministry of Transportation and Aviation asked owners and drivers of trucks to submit the required documents to their respective transportation companies by June 1.
The ministry warned that after June 1, trucks cannot travel between the two countries without having the temporary admission document.
Pakistani officials have announced that consultations are underway with stakeholders on preferential trade agreements with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
According to Dawn newspaper, the issue was announced on Friday in a meeting on trade chaired by Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif.
In the meeting, the strict monitoring of Afghan Transit Trade was also emphasized.
Pakistani officials have not provided further details on preferential trade with Afghanistan and Azerbaijan.
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