The first Deputy Prime Minister, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, ordered relevant departments to facilitate the production of energy from coal
Chairing the economic commission, Mullah Baradar called for the prioritization of power resources, according to a statement issued by his office.
“The commission instructed the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the Chamber of Industry and Mines, as well as the Chamber of Commerce and Investment, under the leadership of the Ministry of Energy and Water, to generate electricity from coal in industrial parks, large cities and other such areas, set priorities according to the volume of coal and the need for electricity, and then begin working on it,” the statement said.
According to the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MMP), there are four major coal mines in the country.
A spokesman for the MMP said that the private sector can invest in the coal mines.
“When we sell it to the traders, we don’t put any conditions on it. It is up to the traders whether they transport it to Tajikistan, Uzbekistan or any other neighboring country,” said Ismatullah Burhan, a spokesman for the MMP.
Meanwhile, the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines (ACIM) said that the production of coal energy can meet the needs of Afghan industry.
“Afghanistan is in serious need of energy. The power generation from coal is important as there are many coal mines in the country. The industrial development is impossible without solving the problem regarding a shortage of power,” said Sakhi Ahmad Payman, a deputy of the ACIM.
Many factories in the country currently face power shortages.
“Lack of power creates many problems. Each factory has at least 50-100 people, when there is no power, all of these workers are unemployed,” said Baba Gul, head of the factory.
Based on the statistics of the ACIM, many factories have halted operations due to lack of power in the country and investors have been forced to withdraw their funding from Afghanistan.
