Oxygen and cotton production factories worth $4 million open in Herat 

An oxygen producing company and a cotton manufacturing facility, totaling $4 million, have opened in Herat’s Industrial City. 

This comes after Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials called for investors to open businesses in the country. 

Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines say in the past four months, 20% of the factories have resumed operations and the necessary facilities have been provided to them to deal with customs and transportation. Currently there are about 200 factories in the city.

Officials from the new oxygen plant say they can produce 1,000 cylinders of gas a day. 

“The conditions are ready for all investors inside and outside the country. Whenever they want to invest, now is the best time. Herat is ready and a very good platform for investment,” said Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Trade and Industry.

Hamidullah Khadem, head of the Herat Chamber of Industries and Mines, said: “Approximately $1.5 million is the value of the cotton factory and about $2.5 million has been invested by the oxygen production company, of which about four million dollars we are witnessing in the opening of these companies.”

However, factory owners have raised concerns about the amount of goods, similar to domestic products, that are imported into the country. 

Herat factory owners say this is a problem for them and that they are manufacturing goods which are still being imported. 

“We have a special program with neighboring countries on importing similar goods, but we will support our domestic production at any time,” said Azizi.

“Our production has improved and sales in the market have improved. At the moment, what has been done is that similar goods are being imported from neighboring countries,” said Ismail Sakhawat, a factory owner.

Meanwhile, a new industrial town covering an area of 5,000 acres is expected to be developed. The Ministry of Industry and Trade said the process of distributing lands to industrialists will begin next month.