KABUL (TCA) — Afghanistan has the capacity of generating more than 23,000 megawatts of hydroelectric power, TOLOnews agency reported with reference to Afghan President Ashraf Ghani’s advisor on infrastructure Humayoun Qayoumi.
Under the government’s energy projects and programs, dams in the country will in the future be built on a zonal basis for a better utilization of the country’s water resources.
Qayoumi said that the Afghan government also plans to start a new 500 megawatt solar project and to start work on three coal power generation projects.
“One of the important points raised by the President was to focus on the management of waters in zones such as the Helmand river zone, the Kabul river zone, the Harirod river zone and the Amur river zone which will help us to construct dams gradually and to utilize our waters,” said Qayoumi.
Today, Afghanistan has the capacity of producing only 500 megawatt of electricity despite the country’s abundance of hydro power resources.
According to a recent survey by the Afghanistan Chamber of Commerce and Industry (ACCI), growing insecurity and the lack of infrastructure and electricity are the main reasons for the business decline in the country, with Afghan manufacturers saying that power shortages are a major challenge in this sector.
And still, Afghanistan expects to benefit from the CASA-1000 electricity transmission project, which will start from Kyrgyzstan and will reach Afghanistan through Tajikistan and onward to Pakistan’s Peshawar city. The length of the project in Afghanistan is estimated to be 562 km.
