Ministry vows to improve water management

KABUL (TOLOnes): The Ministry of Energy and Water (MoEW) said on Monday that more than 400 projects will be implemented this year to improve water management in the country.
According to figures by the ministry, more than 300 projects have already been carried out in this sector.
“In the solar year 1402 (starting from March 2023), the Ministry of Energy and Water has planned 411 projects for the full management of water resources with the goal of balanced development of the country’s river basins, big and medium dams, minor water control dams, and irrigation canals, as well as an underground water supply and water supply project from Panjshir river to Kabul,” said Rafiullah Stanekzai, head of water program coordination.
According to the ministry, the construction on the Shah Wa Aros, Tori, and Kamal Khan dams is still underway while work on the first phase of the second part of the Kajakai dam has been completed.
“Work of the first phase of the second part of the Kajakai Dam in Helmand has been completed. The third phase of the Kamal Khan Dam in Nimroz, the Shah Wa Aros Dam in Kabul, the Tori Dam in Zabul, and the reform project of the lake along the Namak-Ab Canal Project in Takhar is underway,” said Mujibur Rahman Omar Akhundzada, the deputy minister of energy and water.
He noted that Afghanistan only has a water treaty with Iran and it is committed to this agreement.
“We only have a water treaty with Iran, and we are committed to that treaty and their right should be given. We do not have a water treaty with other countries and if a problem occurs, we will deal with it in accordance with international principles,” Akhundzada noted.
Based on data from the Ministry of Energy and Water, water projects worth over $60 million which were carried out by international organizations have remained incomplete.
The ministry urged international institutions to execute their incomplete projects in Afghanistan.