Afghan gov’t endorses 31 projects worth 71 mln USD

KABUL, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) — The Afghan caretaker government’s national procurement commission has recently endorsed 31 projects worth 5 billion afghanis (about 71 million U.S. dollars), the office of the acting deputy prime minister for economic affairs has said in a statement.
The approved projects included restoring a turbine at the Naghlu power plant near the national capital Kabul, provision of electrical equipment in various provinces, fast telecommunications and internet services for people and completing a major water supply network in the provincial capital Qala-e-Naw of Badghis, according to the statement on Wednesday.
The commission licensed 12 procurement projects worth about 5 billion afghanis (about 71 million U.S. dollars) in July.
The projects are expected to provide job opportunities to hundreds of thousands of local residents, the office said.
The Afghan caretaker government plans to launch more development and infrastructure projects on its domestic budget across the war-ravaged country to tackle economic challenges and create job opportunities. ■