Kabul (BNA) President Ashraf Ghani presided over a special meeting of the High Economic Council, where various mining projects were brought under discussion on Tuesday.
Mohammad Haroon Chakhansury, minister of Mines and Petroleum presented a detailed report mainly on large and small scale mining projects including marble, talc, salt and coal in the provinces of Nangarhar, Takhar and Bamiyan.
Minister of Mines and Petroleum added that a 1.6 billion Afghanis investment had been made for five years that will create four thousand employment opportunities as well as a projected revenue of 400 million Afs from royalty and land rent.
President Ashraf Ghani said that the goal of the government of Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is to build a dynamic economy and stressed the government will mobilize all its resources to achieve the goal.
He added that it is the government’s top priority to prevent smuggling of Afghanistan’s minerals.
The council approved small scale mining projects and decided that the Office of First Vice-President present a specific plan for security of mines by relying on experiences from implementation of the Security Charter.
High Economic Council instructed the Investment Facilitation Unit of the Administrative Office of the President to form a task force for attracting large investments on mining sector and submit its report to the President of Afghanistan.
The council also instructed the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum to streamline license issuance process for mining projects.
M.A.Ansari
