Officials from the Ministry of Public Works said on Monday during a program outlining their one-year achievements that out of 109 projects for the maintenance and preservation of roads and highways, they have completed 85 projects over the past year.
These officials also mentioned that they have a plan to construct the second Salang Highway and have held discussions with some foreign investors regarding this project.
Abdul Karim Fateh, deputy minister of Public Works, said during the program that the ministry has created direct employment opportunities for more than 15,000 people and indirect employment for 90,000 people during this period.
Fateh said: “We had 109 projects, of which approximately 85 have been completed, and the remaining 24 projects are still ongoing.”
The deputy minister also highlighted the importance of the Kabul-Kandahar highway and said that the reconstruction of this highway has been divided into 13 sections and is progressing rapidly, with completion expected by the end of the current solar year.
He also mentioned the construction of the second Salang Highway tunnel.
Abdul Karim Fateh added: “Regarding the second Salang tunnel, we have initiated our efforts and shared our documents with some foreign companies. We are now waiting for them to submit their proposals soon, and either through mining contracts or budget agreements, the work on the second tunnel will begin.”
Mohammad Ashraf Haqshinas, a spokesman for the for the Ministry of Public Works, said: “A number of other projects contracted with the private sector had a budget of over 1.5 billion afghani in the maintenance sector, and the work has been completed.”
Mohammad Ashraf Haqshinas, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Public Works, said in this program that there have also been advances in the initiation of the Trans-Afghan regional railway project, and soon a delegation from Uzbekistan will arrive in Kabul for discussions on this matter.
Haqshinas said: “The important Trans-Afghan project, which is not only an Afghan project but also a regional one, is currently under negotiation at the leadership level of the Ministry of Public Works with Central Asian countries. A technical team from Uzbekistan is expected to come to Afghanistan, and the observational survey will begin.”
According to the spokesperson of the Ministry of Public Works, 4.1 metric tons of transportation have been carried out through the railway in the past year.
Based on information from the Ministry of Public Works, since 2023, one thousand kilometers of roads have been contracted for reconstruction, and currently, the reconstruction of the Salang, Kabul-Kandahar, the second lane of Kabul-Jalalabad, Kabul-Logar, the second lane of Kabul-Ghazni, and the Afghanistan ring road are ongoing.
The officials of this ministry also announced in this program the commencement of the construction of 75 mosques along the highways based on the decree of the leader of the Islamic Emirate in the current solar year.
