Business
Foundation stone of new industrial park laid in Balkh province
The foundation stone of a new industrial park in Balkh province was laid on Sunday in the presence of officials, elders and members of the private sector.
Speaking at a ceremony to mark the occasion, Noorul Hadi Abu Adris, deputy governor of Balkh province, emphasized the need for the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) to encourage and support the private sector. He said: "In order to solve the problems, serious measures and such projects are implemented for the development of the country.”
Syed Mohammad Naeem Mohammadi, general director of industrial parks of the ministry of commerce and industry, thanked the authorities for handing over the land, and setting up this park. He asked businessmen and investors to invest in the park.
The Ministry of Commerce and Industry said that they have allocated about 4,000 acres of land for the industrial park; the first phase will include 244 acres of this land, where a commercial center will be built.
As well as the center, 3.6 kms of walls will be built along with 10 kms of roads. This will be completed within six months. Meanwhile, Nooruddin Azizi, acting minister of commerce and industry, has inaugurated Boost Industrial Estate and National Industrial Estate in Helmand Province.
The press office of the ministry has published a newsletter saying that Azizi said the opening of industrial parks was part of their efforts to industrialize Afghanistan.
Boost Industrial Town covers 175 acres of land and National Industrial Town is on 2,000 acres of land in Helmand province.
The acting minister of industry and trade added that: "The opening of industrial towns in the country, the transformation of Afghanistan from an economy dependent on imports to an economy dependent on exports is the priority of the economic policy of the Islamic Emirate."
Business
Private sectors of Afghanistan, Kazakhstan sign contracts worth $100 million
Private sectors of Afghanistan and Kazakhstan have signed contracts worth $100 million during the visit of an Afghan delegation to Almaty recently, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) announced on Thursday.
The agreements include the export of more than 2,000 tons of dried fruit, the export of fresh fruit, including pomegranates, and the export of cotton, Zabihullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, said on X.
Mujahid said that the Islamic Emirate delegation during its recent visit to Kazakhstan signed a "road map of cooperation between Afghanistan and Kazakhstan in the fields of trade, industry, mining, energy, logistics, agriculture, telecommunications, health, higher education and humanitarian aid.”
He said Kazakhstan also assured that it would provide more facilities for the transit of Afghan goods to China and other countries through Kazakhstan.
The allocation of an area "as a logistics center for Afghan goods" in the port of Khargos was also part of the agreement between the two sides to facilitate the unloading and loading of Afghan traders' goods.
The spokesman of the Islamic Emirate also said that Kazakhstan will participate in the construction of the Torghundi-Herat, Kandahar-Spin Boldak and Mazar-e-Sharif-Kharlachi railway projects.
Mujahid added that Kazakhstan will also participate in the establishment of a trade and transit center in Herat province, which will be used to store and finance trade and transit goods. Meanwhile, Kazakhstan has agreed to establish permanent expo centers for the sale of Afghan goods in various cities of Kazakhstan.
It is worth mentioning that the delegation of the Islamic Emirate led by Nooruddin Azizi, Acting Minister of Industry and Commerce, participated in the three-day exhibition of Afghanistan's domestic products, which was launched on October 21 in Almaty.
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce recently announced that 23 tons of pomegranates from Kandahar province were exported to Almaty through the port of Torghundi.
Business
China resumes direct rail trade with Afghanistan
China resumed its direct freight rail services to Afghanistan on Thursday when a train loaded with goods left Nantong city in Jiangsu province.
The train, carrying commercial goods in 55 wagons, is heading for the northern Hairatan border in Balkh province, Yue Xiaoyong, China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Special Representative for Afghanistan, said in a post on X.
Nantong is a central hub of the Belt and Road Initiative and is located north of Shanghai.
The resumption of the rail line was marked at a formal ceremony on Thursday with Yue and Bilal Karimi, the Afghan Ambassador to China, in attendance.
This comes after China recently announced plans to lift customs tariffs on Afghan exports to China by the end of this year, further strengthening trade ties between the two nations.
Business
IEA signs contract for construction of cement factory in Jawzjan Province
Turkish 77 Company will invest $163 million in the factory, which will have a daily output of 3,000 tons of cement once completed
The Islamic Emirate on Tuesday signed a multi-million dollar contract with Turkish 77 Company for a new cement factory in the Yatim Taq area of Jawzjan Province in northern Afghanistan.
The contract was signed in the presence of Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund.
Turkish 77 Company will invest $163 million in the factory, which will have a daily output of 3,000 tons of cement once completed.
Also in attendance on Tuesday were officials from the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum who stated that the contract, which allows the Turkish company to explore, extract, produce cement, and deliver social services, is valid for 30 years.
The establishment of this cement production plant will directly create around 1,200 jobs for local citizens.
In addition to the signing of this contract, the ministry also inked contracts worth $476 million with several domestic and foreign companies for cement projects in Jabal al-Saraj, Kandahar, and Herat.
The IEA has said this is in line with their aim of propelling the country towards self-sufficiency in the cement sector.
-
Latest News4 days ago
Hamid Karzai praises BRICS stance on Afghanistan
-
Latest News5 days ago
Afghanistan has right to take water from Amu river: Uzbekistan’s envoy
-
Latest News4 days ago
Russia’s senate speaker underscores commitment to fostering peace in Afghanistan
-
Latest News5 days ago
Pakistani politician calls for dialogue between Islamabad and Kabul
-
World5 days ago
North Korea’s foreign minister leaves for Russia amid troop dispatch
-
Regional4 days ago
Hezbollah elects Naim Qassem to succeed slain head Nasrallah
-
Business4 days ago
IEA signs contract for construction of cement factory in Jawzjan Province
-
Latest News3 days ago
ACB name youth squad ahead of tri-nation series and U19 Asia Cup