The provincial director of Water and Energy in Kandahar says 80 percent of electricity demand will be met by the end of 2020 as several projects are being executed in the southern province.
Amanullah Ayub Farooqi, in an exclusive interview, told Pajhwok Afghan News 60 percent of work on the 220 KW electricity line from Ghazni to Kandahar had been completed.
He said the Afghanistan Breshna Shirkat(DBS) had awarded the contract for this project to an Indian company (KEC) in 2017.
Farooqi said the power project would cost more than $113 million provided by the USAID through the Afghan government. The project will be operationalized by the end of 2020.
The huge scheme would benefit more than 100,000 consumers in Ghazni, Zabul and Kandahar provinces, the official informed.
Work on the second phase of the Kajaki power dam has also been launched and it will produce 100MW of electricity after the addition of four turbines. The dam is currently producing 51MW of power.
Work is also underway on solar power plants, which will produce 40MW of electric. One of the plants was inaugurated by President Ghani a few weeks back.
He revealed 154 factories were not functioning at their full capacity and 135 others had to be shut for the lack of electricity during the past several years.
The director added many investors were waiting for the solar energy plants to be completed. Farooqi said there were more than 200 factories in Kandahar, producing cotton, oil, cake, soap, ice, packages, PVC pipes, food items, non-alcoholic drinks and other items,
Around 5,000 people are working in the factories in Kandahar, which receives 20MW electricity from Kajaki dam. But it is not enough. Additionally, the province is supplied receives 15MW of power on a daily basis from one solar power plant.
