Taliban authorities from the Kabul Municipality on Tuesday inaugurated a new underground market in the Pul-e-Khishti area of central Kabul, a project they say is part of broader efforts to modernize the capital.
According to Khalid Sajistani, deputy mayor of Kabul, the market has been leased to a private company for 30 years under a revenue-sharing agreement. Sixty-five percent of the market’s income will go to the company, while 35 percent will be transferred to the Kabul Municipality.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Sajistani urged vendors and residents to protect and properly use the new facility. He also said that more than 200 development projects, valued in the “billions of Afghanis,” are currently under way across the city.
Construction of the underground market took more than a year to complete.
