Officials from the Ministry of Energy and Water say that the world community has not contributed to the construction of major hydroelectric dams in Afghanistan.
The officials claim that donor countries are not interested in continuing their financial aid for the construction of dams in the country.
Mohammad Ismail Khan said in a press conference in Kabul said that discussions between government officials and donors about the construction of hydroelectric dams have had no results.
Minister Ismail Khan emphasized that the world community has only assisted with the construction of roads but have had no contribution towards other infrastructure projects.
Owing to its mountainous characteristics, Afghanistan is highly capable of having hydroelectric dams. However, due to the decades of war the country has lost most of its dams.
Since the past decade, Afghanistan receives most of its electricity from neighboring countries, mainly Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, which has cost the government a huge sum of money.
Meanwhile, Minister Ismail Khan said that construction of the country’s seven major hydroelectric dams is part of the government infrastructure projects plan.
According to Minister Ismail Khan, survey of more than 500 big and small dams has been completed in the past 8 years; however, the construction of these dams requires a budget of billions of dollars.
Supply of electricity to major cities of Afghanistan, like Kabul, has been the government’s biggest challenge.
Population growth and development of cities have slowed down the process of power supply.
