Cement factory in western Afghanistan to create thousands of jobs

TMP – 19/04/2017

Private investment companies in Afghanistan and the Czech Republic have plans to build a cement production factory in western Herat province and with that introduce thousands of job opportunities.

In an interview with Afghan radio station Azadi, Cyrus Alaaf, trade advisor to the Afghan president, said that negotiations with the Czechs had been finalized and that a contract will be signed in the next two months.

“With this pace, we will sign the contract in two months and implement the project within two years. We will produce 1,600 tons of cement per day, reaching 500,000 tons in a year,” Alaaf said.

The factory will cost around $70 million to develop and will create more than 30,000 direct and indirect job opportunities in the country. At the moment, Afghanistan mainly imports construction materials such as cement from neighboring countries, including Iran and Pakistan.

Saeed Azimian, a member of the Herat Chamber of Commerce and Industry, described how the project will play an effective role in ensuring economic growth and security across the country.

“We will witness an economic transition in Afghanistan, with the development of industries and projects such as this, which will create tens of thousands of job opportunities, reduce poverty and ensure security in the area,” Azimian said.