Mawlawi Abdul Kabir, Deputy Prime Minister for Political Affairs, met with Song Wen Bing, President of the Mes Aynak Copper Contracting Company, this week and emphasized that once copper starts being extracted, the country’s mining revenue will be boosted.
According to a statement issued by the ministry, Song reiterated the company’s commitment to ensuring the timely initiation of extraction activities in line with the agreed schedule and operational plan.
Song meanwhile stated that more than $5 billion will be invested in the first phase of the project, with initial mining operations expected to start once the road to the site has been constructed.
He said the necessary machinery is scheduled to be imported next year.
Song also noted that the project will create jobs for 3,000 Afghans and that a group of Afghans will be sent for vocational training in China.
He also said that the surrounding historical sites and changes in the mining plan have contributed to delays in the project.
The Aynak copper mine contains millions of tons of copper and is believed to have the second largest copper reserve in the world.
The contract for the Aynak copper mine was signed in 1999 with the Chinese company MCC for 30 years, but due to security issues and prolonged excavations of ancient relics in the area, the extraction of copper was delayed.
A critical road to the mine has also been a challenge, but construction work on this recently got underway.
