The Ministry of Transportation and Civil Aviation laid the foundation stone for a new waiting area costing 300 million afghani on Thursday, July 25, at Kabul International Airport.

According to the acting Minister of Transportation and Civil Aviation, this waiting area will have three floors and will be completed within the next 18 months.

Acting Minister Hamidullah Akhundzada said at the opening ceremony of the waiting area project that the ministry is striving to establish a transportation system with global standards to foster economic growth in the country.

Akhundzada said: "The Ministry of Transport has initiated a total of 43 major infrastructure projects in the transportation and aviation sector for the year 1403 (solar year), currently in the procurement stage. Among these, five projects are in the aviation sector with a total value of 530 million afghani."

Akhundzada further highlighted that the value of the new waiting area project at Kabul Airport costs over 300 million afghanis and it will have the capacity to accommodate 150 people. 

The acting minister said: "The investment value of this project exceeds 300 million afghani, and it will be completed and operational within 18 months."

Meanwhile, officials from the contracting company stressed the quality of work on this waiting area, assuring that the project will be completed on schedule.

"This waiting area will be constructed with all the standards of a waiting hall, and all services for passengers will be considered in this hall," Ahmad Niaz Ahmadi, the head of the contracting company, told TOLOnews.

The acting Minister of Transportation and Civil Aviation also said that from 1401 to 1403 (solar year), more than 30 partnership projects with the private sector, valued at over 2.5 billion afghani, have been signed. These projects include the construction of terminals, waiting areas, and aviation facilities.