Taliban officials on Monday inaugurated construction of a $160 million cement plant in northern Afghanistan, a project they say could help reduce the country’s heavy reliance on imports and boost domestic industry.
The facility, located in the Yatim Taq area of Jawzjan province, will be built by a Turkish company known as 77, under a contract signed in October 2024. The plant is expected to produce 3,000 tons of cement per day, though Taliban did not say when construction would be completed.
Under the agreement, the Turkish firm will operate and hold rights to the project for 30 years.
Speaking at a ceremony marking the occasion, Abdul Ghani Baradar, the Taliban deputy chief minister, called for greater international engagement with the Taliban within what he described as a “formal economic framework.”
He said Afghanistan now offered “unprecedented security and political stability” and urged the international community to reconsider sanctions and political isolation.
“Narrowing political and economic space and prolonging sanctions does not resolve global political or economic challenges,” Baradar said. “It creates threats and reduces the role of regional and international cooperation.”
The project is among the largest recent industrial investments in northern Afghanistan and is located in an area believed to hold significant raw materials needed for cement production.
Afghanistan’s annual demand for cement is estimated at 6 to 7 million tons, driven largely by construction, reconstruction and infrastructure projects. Domestic production, however, remains far below that level — currently estimated at just 1 to 2 million tons.
Major plants in Ghori, Jabal al-Saraj and Herat have struggled to operate at full capacity because of aging equipment, electricity shortages and limited investment.
As a result, Afghanistan continues to import roughly 70 to 80 percent of its cement, primarily from Iran, Pakistan and Central Asian countries.
