Afghanistan Times
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Abdul Zuhoor Qayomi-KABUL: The foundation stone of 19 industries was laid on Tuesday in the second phase of Juma Muhammad Muhammadi Industrial Park (JMIP) in Bagrami district of Kabul.
Each company will invest at least $105 million. The 19 industries will create 1,500 jobs, said the national economic adviser, Hazrat Omar Zakhilwal.
Addressing the ceremony, he said that machinery for the industries have already arrived in the capital, Kabul. Zakhilwal added that the economic problems have increased and pushed youth to leave the country.
Chief of the Afghanistan Investment Support Agency (AISA), Muhammad Qurban Haqjo, said that all required facilities including mosques, firefighting department, electricity, roads and backup power generator would be available in the second phase of JMIP. The second phase of the industrial park is expanding on 55 acres.
He said that 80 percent of the protection wall of the park has been completed, adding that 31 companies in the park are producing different types of products.
According to Haqjo the number of pharmaceutical companies would reach to 27 in the country.
Talking about the challenges, he said that due to red-tapism the industries were facing problems and the investors were not ready to invest. Lack of land and electricity were counted as major challenges by Haqjo, saying that the 31 companies in the JMIP do not own lands but working in rented buildings.
He said the investors in Sheikh Misri Industrial Park recently succeeded in supplying 5MW electricity to 500 companies, costing $250,000. The industrial zone in Nangahar was established 11 years ago but needed sufficient electricity supply till the investors came forward.
“Hesar-e-Shahi Industrial Park was established eight years ago in Nangarhar but till date no industry was established. Investors are not ready to invest there because the park is deprived of electricity. Eight million US dollars are required to supply power to the park,” he said.
There are eight industrial parks in Nangarhar, Kabul, Herat, Kandahar and Balkh provinces while establishment of 12 more industrial zones are on the cards in Logar, Maidan Wardak, Balkh, Parwan and Herat, he said.
