Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), the state power utility, at a ceremony in Kabul on Wednesday signed contracts with local conglomerate Azizi Group to develop 845 megawatts of electricity generation capacity, including solar and coal-fired plants.
Abdul Haq Hamkar, head of DABS under the Taliban administration, said the agreements cover 330 megawatts of solar power and 515 megawatts of coal-fired thermal power, with an estimated total investment of about $463 million by Azizi Group.
According to Hamkar, the projects include 100 MW of solar power in Naghlu, Kabul province; 100 MW in Barikab, Parwan province; and 130 MW in Ghazni province. The thermal component comprises a 350 MW coal-fired plant in Baghlan province and a 165 MW coal-fired plant in Takhar province.
He said the projects are expected to generate around 3.7 million megawatt-hours of electricity annually. The solar plants are scheduled for completion within two years, while the coal-fired facilities are expected to be completed within two and a half to three years.
Hamkar added that the projects would create thousands of direct and indirect jobs once implemented.
Mirwais Azizi, chairman of Azizi Group, said some equipment for the projects had already been procured but did not provide further details. Neither DABS nor Azizi Group disclosed additional information on financing structures or power purchase arrangements.
The country relies heavily on imported electricity, mainly from neighboring Central Asian states, to meet domestic demand and faces chronic power shortages, particularly during winter months. Even in Kabul, households have over 10 hours of power outages on a daily basis.
