Taliban said they held a meeting with Mirwais Azizi, chairman of Azizi Energy, in Kabul on Tuesday to discuss progress in planned 10,000-megawatt electricity generation program.
The Taliban deputy chief minister’s office said in a statement that the company has procured the technical equipment needed for the 10,000-megawatt electricity generation program and will soon begin transporting it to Afghanistan.
According to the statement, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban’s deputy chief minister for economic affairs, said all required equipment had been secured and that shipments to Afghanistan would begin in the near future.
He also said construction of a major cancer treatment hospital would start soon, though no timeline or location was provided.
The statement said a joint technical committee made up of government officials and Azizi Energy representatives reported that feasibility studies had been completed and power purchase agreements signed for three solar power projects: a 100-megawatt plant in Naghlu, Kabul, another 100-megawatt facility in Barikab, Parwan province, and a 131-megawatt solar project in Ghazni province.
Construction has already begun at the three sites, the committee said.
The statement added that technical discussions are continuing on a 165-megawatt coal-fired power plant in Takhar province, a 350-megawatt coal-fired plant in Baghlan province, two electrical substations in Naghlu and Ghazni, and a transmission line linking the Tarakhil area to Kabul’s Green Industrial Park.
According to the statement, Baradar praised the committee’s progress and instructed state agencies to accelerate the remaining work.
The statement said that he ordered outstanding technical issues to be resolved within two weeks and requested a progress report from the committee.
Afghanistan relies heavily on imported electricity, particularly from neighboring Central Asian countries. Taliban have repeatedly said expanding domestic power generation is a priority to reduce energy imports and address chronic electricity shortages.
