The Afghanistan state company the National Construction Corporation (NCC) reported in March continuing progress on the Qush Tepa Canal, the 285 km mega project to divert some of the flow of the Amu Darya River, to irrigate 550,000 hectares in three northern provinces. The NCC reported that the Second Phase of construction is 95% complete. The main intake dam is 90% complete. When fully finished, the wheat output will guarantee food self-sufficiency for Afghanistan.
This infrastructure project, long planned in Afghanistan, but obstructed under Western geopolitics, raises the need for continental-scale water infrastructure. The Amu Darya River is insufficient for the needs of today’s national populations in its basin, as is the case with the Syr Darya as well. The downriver nations of Uzbekistan (38 million people) and Turkmenistan (7.5 million), are water short.
