220 KV power project to Ghazni, Maidan Wardak inaugurated

Monitoring Desk

KABUL: The project of providing 220 kilowatts of power to some parts of Maidan Wardak and Ghazni was inaugurated on Thursday.

Among others President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani, chairman of Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat Amanullah Ghalib and other officials attended the ceremony.

Addressing the gathering, Amanullah Ghalib said the project has two phases. In the first round, he said power would lines would be installed from Arghandi Maseer area to Ghazni. It needs funds of $ 59 million.

He said the second phase included the construction of two sub-stations in Syedabad district of Wardak and Ghanzi city. It needed funds of $47.6 million. The US Agency for International Development was providing funds for the project, he added. An Indian firm, KEC, was carrying out the designing and implementation of the project, he said. Its implementation was started in July 2016. The Ghazni sub-station was capable to generation 30 megawatts of power while the sub-station in Syedabad would be able to produce 20 megawatts of electricity, he said.

On the occasion, President Muhammad Ashraf Ghani lauded the DABS, Afghan security and defence forces, elders of Maidan Wardak and Ghazni, influential figures and youths for completion of the project. He thanked the USAID for providing funds and India firm for technical assistance.

“Today is the start. It would reach to Zabul and then to Kandahar. Our development councils should cooperate. It is impossible without their cooperation,” he said.

He said special attention would be given to 11 provinces of Afghanistan, including Badghis and Ghazni which were paying four-time power tariff compared to other parts of the country.

The purpose of the Afghan government was to establish a single power network, become self-sufficient in power production, ensure supply of 15000 megawatts of power from Central Asia to South Asia and provide solar, wind and gas energy to those provinces of Afghanistan which do not have access to electricity.

Power was the dignity of the country, he said, adding that they would defend the pride. He directed the DABS officials to install the power lines through public and government facilities rather than private facilities and orchards.

On the occasion, Shafiq Hotak, representative of Maidan Wardak, and Hamidullah Sarwari, representative of Ghazni, said all the people of Afghanistan would cooperate with the government for the implementation and protection of these projects.