Afghanistan exported saffron and Ferula assa-foetida worth $77.5 million over the past six months, the spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce and Industry Akhundzada Abdul Salam Jawad said.

The country has exported 18 tons of saffron worth $20.5 million and 617 tons of ferula assa-foetida worth $57 million during the cited period through August, the official said.

According to Jawad, these two spices have been mostly exported to China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), India, Spain, Germany, Uzbekistan, Indonesia, the United States, and Britain.

Ferula assa-foetida, with its yellow flower and massive root, is native to Central Asia and eastern Iran, and is grown in Afghanistan, from where it is exported to the rest of the world.

Afghanistan's Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock has provided training to local farmers in its efforts to promote saffron and ferula asafetida production in Afghanistan.

Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce Nooruddin Azizi on Friday left for Kazakhstan’s Almaty, leading a delegation of public and private sector representatives.

The Ministry of Industry and Commerce said in a statement that the purpose of the delegation's trip is to hold an exhibition of Afghan products in Kazakhstan, participate in a business forum, and meet with Kazakh officials.

More than 250 people, including the Deputy Minister of Mines and Petroleum, the head of Investment Facilitation of the Directorate of Administrative Affairs, representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the office of economic deputy of the prime minister, Da Afghanistan Bank and members of the private sector, are accompanying Azizi on the visit.

Senior officials from Afghanistan’s power utility company Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS) met Wednesday with directors of Bayat Power to discuss enhanced cooperation in generating electricity for the country. 

According to a statement issued by DABS, their CEO Abdul Bari Omar met with Ali Kasemi, Bayat Power’s CEO, in Kabul. Omar expressed gratitude for the company’s contributions as a national investor.

Bayat Power is Afghanistan’s largest private Electric Power Production and Development Company. 

The company owns and operates Bayat Power-1, the first in a new generation of Gas to Electricity power generation plants that provide affordable, reliable and environmentally sustainable electric power to homes and businesses in Afghanistan. 

During the meeting, Omar highlighted the growing interest from investors in power generation while Kasemi  “affirmed his commitment to cooperate with DABS and indicated his intention to expand production capacity.”

DABS said this move was welcomed by Omar, who said in turn that Bayat Power’s services had a positive impact on the Afghan people. 

Omar also outlined various opportunities within Afghanistan’s power generation sector and encouraged Bayat Power to pursue further investments as a national investor.

“The meeting underscored a shared commitment to enhancing electricity services and growth in energy sector,” DABS said in its statement.

Phase 2 of Bayat Power-1 on the cards

In August, Bayat Power officials said they are hoping to start work soon on Phase 2 of Bayat Power-1 in northern Jawzjan province in order to increase electricity production output for Afghanistan.

Company officials said at the time they were in  discussions with relevant government departments to start the project.

Mohammad Shoaib Sahibzada, the technical head of Bayat Power, said that once Phase 2 is complete, electricity production will increase from 40 to 100 megawatts.

Sahibzada said Bayat Power's natural gas to electricity generation project will eventually produce up to 250 megawatts of electricity once Phase 3 is complete.

“Currently, it has a production of 40 megawatts, and in the second phase, it will produce 100 megawatts. Bayat Power is in contact with the relevant officials regarding the start of the second phase, the discussions are ongoing,” said Sahibzada.

Bayat Power has produced over one billion kilowatt hours of electricity in just under five years after starting commercial operations in late 2019.

Sahibzada said that over the past five years, the company has also worked on capacity building of its technical employees.

Leading the way

After 40 years, Bayat Power is the first private company to produce electricity from natural gas in the country and the multi-million dollar plant uses Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine for its economic efficiency, flexible deployment, and power density.

Currently providing electricity to hundreds of thousands of end-users and generating more than 300 million kWh annually, the project was structured as an innovative public-private partnership between Bayat Power, Siemens Energy, and Afghanistan government entities such as the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the Ministry of Energy and Water, and the General Directorate of Afghan Gas Corporation Company, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), and international partners.

The Bayat Group is the largest private investor in Afghanistan and Bayat Power is currently the only gas-powered plant in the country. The Siemens Energy’s SGT-A45 mobile gas turbine used by the company is the only one in operation in the world.