Afghanistan is a country where “water means food.” Not waiting for international help, fully committed to overcoming the current economic breakdown, unemployment crisis and food crisis, the Afghan government is going ahead with several major large, medium and small water infrastructure projects, mainly via Afghanistan’s giant state construction group “National Development Company” (NDC).
In August, NDC said it has launched 692 projects worth 112 billion afghanis in the country in the past year. Speaking at a press conference as part of the government’s annual accountability program, Abdul Wali Adil, deputy head of the National Development Corporation for financial and administrative affairs, confirmed that it is involved in water resource management, as well as in agriculture, construction and manufacturing. He said that the corporation completed 81 projects including 55 in the construction sector over the past year. NDC also said that 1.22 billion afghanis has been paid to contractors.
Qosh Tepa Canal, Namak Ab reservoir, Tarak wa Khoshak canal, and Machalgu dam irrigation canal are among the major projects launched by the National Development Corporation this year, he said. The largest project is the Qosh Tepa Canal in northern Balkh province. The canal—280 km long and 100 meters wide—will irrigate 500,000 hectares in Balkh, Jawzjan and Faryab provinces. Work on the project would be completed at a cost of 60 billion afghanis ($680 million) within five years. (https://pajhwok.com/2022/08/09/qush-tepa-canal-to-be-completed-before-scheduled-date/ )
