The Ministry of Industry and Commerce has announced that Turkmenistan will purchase 150,000 tons of Afghan-produced steel rebar in 2025.
Akundzada Abdul Salam Jawad, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, told TOLOnews that Afghanistan has achieved self-sufficiency in steel rebar production.
The spokesperson added: “Three to four thousand people are directly employed in these factories. Afghanistan is engaged in trade with regional countries. Last year, we exported 60,000 tons of steel rebar to Pakistan, and this year, we have a contract to export 150,000 tons to Turkmenistan.”
Meanwhile, Nasir Ahmad, an employee of one of the steel factories that produces 200 to 250 tons of steel rebar daily, told TOLOnews: “I urge businessmen and everyone to invest within the country. Large companies must be established to provide job opportunities for the people.”
At the same time, officials at the factory where Nasir Ahmad works have said that they have created jobs for 300 people, but their main challenge is a lack of electricity.
Sayed Asghar Asghari, the deputy of the steel production factory, stated: “We face power shortages during one working shift. We have 300 workers, and currently, we receive electricity for only 12 hours a day.”
The Steel Association has emphasized that in order to support steel production factories in Afghanistan, the Islamic Emirate must allocate some iron mines to them.
Abdul Nasir Reshtia, the Executive Director of the Steel Association, said: “Fortunately, Afghanistan’s steel sector is the first sector to procure its raw materials domestically, but these resources might be exhausted within two years. Therefore, we need to extract mines, as Afghanistan has abundant iron reserves, and the government must exclusively allocate one of these mines to Afghanistan’s steel industry.”
Afghanistan is among the countries with significant iron reserves, and currently, more than 40 steel factories are operating across the country.
