Business
Water affairs authority confirms work to start on 44 new dams
National Water Affairs Regulation Authority (WARA) said Wednesday that the construction of 44 dams across the country will begin next month in order to help manage Afghan waters.
WARA stated that surveys and designs of these dams are being finalized and the construction contracts would be signed separately next month.
According to the department the following dams, at an estimated cost of $600 million, would be contracted in 21 provinces.
Aghan Jan in Uruzgan; Mizan, Markok, Qaria Aja, and Allaudin in Zabul; Zardalo, Mullah Cheragh, and Chard in Ghazni; Gromby, Gorbat and Jalrez in Maidan Wardak; Gomal, Gomal Dowom, Zama, and Rustai Mirza in Paktika; Domand in Khost; Kharwar in Logar; Sori Khola in Paktia; Sultan Ibrahim and Qale Sokhta in Sar-e-Pul; Almar and Khisht Pol in Faryab; Rustai Aab in Samangan; Kantiwa and Kala Gosh in Nuristan; Aab Lory in Kandahar; Shoray, and Buzbai in Badghis; Wursaj Socha Maagh in Takhar; Dahane Mohammad Gicha in Bamiyan; Dare Bamsir in Daikundi; Shina, Zardag Bam, and Khair Maidanak in Ghor; Noor Gul and Qata Qala in Kunar; Pang Ziyan, Dare Shrasta, and Surkh in Nangarhar; Buzban in Ghor; Talkhak in Parwan; and Watan Gat in Laghman.
WARA stated that the dams, which will be used for hydroelectric and irrigation purposes, could store around 1,200 million cubic meters of water once the projects are implemented.
Once construction is complete, these dams will also irrigate an estimated 320,000 hectares of land, WARA said.
According to WARA, the dams could also produce 97 MW of electricity.
The Afghan officials said that the projects would also provide employment for thousands of people.
This comes after President Ashraf Ghani inaugurated the Kamal Khan Dam in western Nimruz province last month.
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.
Business
Export volume totals over $140 million in last month of 1402
The National Statistics and Information Authority (NSIA) confirmed Tuesday that in the last month of solar year 1402, (March 2024) Afghanistan’s exports totaled $141.1 million and imports totaled $789.6 million.
This was down from $174 million for exports in the same period in 1401. However, imports increased by $99.2 million in 1402, up from $690.4 million.
Most exports in the last month of 1402 went to Pakistan, India and the United Arab Emirates, while in the last month of 1401 exports went to Pakistan, India and China.
Business
Afghanistan-Kazakhstan chamber of commerce opens in Herat
The Ministry of Interior said the governor of Herat province Islam Jar met with Alim Khan Yasin Gildaye, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Afghanistan, to discuss various issues around trade.
According to the ministry, the two sides discussed the expansion of trade facilities, increasing the volume of trade exchanges between traders of the two countries, reducing customs tariffs, solving the challenges of traders and issuing visas to them.
The Afghanistan-Kazakhstan Chamber of Commerce has been opened in Herat in order to facilitate and increase trade between the two countries.
Business
Afghanistan reaches self-sufficiency in production of 133 items: MoIC
The Ministry of Industry and Commerce (MoIC) says Afghanistan has reached self-sufficiency in 45 sectors and the production of 133 items, and that the ministry is striving to change Afghanistan from an importing country to an exporting one.
The ministry officials said that for this purpose, supporting domestic products and attracting investment is essential.
The ministry’s spokesman Abdul Salam Jawad Akhundzada emphasized increasing the use of domestic goods and products in government and national projects and added that efforts have also begun to find a market for domestic products inside and outside the country.
“We have reached self-sufficiency in 133 items of production, which is 45 sectors, and also we reached the capacity of semi-self-sufficiency in 95 items of production, which is 27 sectors,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Industries and Mines (ACIM) says over the past two and a half years, more attention has been paid to the development of domestic production and it is also expanding.
The chamber officials stressed expanding the culture of using domestic products in government projects.
“I think that the government is one of the biggest consumers in the market if it uses domestic products in all its development projects,” said Abdul Nasir Rashtia, a member of ACIM.
Economic experts also said that if the use of domestic products in government projects increases, Afghanistan will quickly move towards economic independence.
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