Industrial parks to be set up in 8 provinces

KABUL): In line with the Ministry of Commerce and Industries’ new policy, nine industrial parks would be established in eight provinces to attract investment and create a million jobs, a deputy minister said on Saturday.

The parks would be set up in Kunduz, Khost, Paktia, Parwan, Ghazni, Takhar, Faryab and Jawzjan provinces, Motasil Komaki told Pajhwok Afghan News.

For the industrial parks, 1,000 acres of land will be allocated in Kunduz, 200 acres in Khost, 250 acres in Paktia, 300 acres in Parwan, 750 acres in Ghazni, 250 acres in Takhar and 300 acres in Faryab and Jawzjan.

The three-year policy would be implemented by the last quarter of the current year Afghan year, the deputy minister said, promising infrastructure projects like roads, canals and water and power systems would be executed.

“I hope many investors will be willing to invest in the parks during the period,” he said, explaining the business areas would house hundreds of factories and provide jobs for more than a million people. Each of the industrial estates will cost seven to 25 million US dollars.
Business parks are already operational in Herat, Helmand, Kandahar, Nangarhar, Balkh and Kabul, with entrepreneurs ready to consider investments in similar estates in eight other provinces.

Noor Rahman, a trader from northern Kunduz province, said investors needed fundamental facilities at the industrial estates.Exporting dried fruits to and importing building materials from Tajikistan, he said some individuals had set up factories on arable land.

But the Department of Agriculture and other government organisations say industrial units should not be constructed on farms.

The trader added: “I want to set up a fruit-juice factory, but can’t translate my plans into action because land for the industrial park has not been allocated so far.”  Noor Rahman believed the industrial town should have a specific location, so that businessmen could enhance the volume of investments.

The deputy minister revealed a comprehensive industrial policy had been drafted and sent to the ministries of mines, finance, trade, planning, transport, rural development and public works, as well as the municipality.

After the inclusion of suggestions from relevant ministries, the draft industrial policy would be sent to the Cabinet for approval, Komaki said. Previously, he remarked, each government organ followed its own policy, something inconsistent with the modern-day industrial environment.

The proposed policy set store by promoting handicraft, marble, precious and semi-precious stone, leather, agriculture, cashmere and construction sectors, he concluded.

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