Northern Bamyan province is upgrading two airports to allow for larger aircraft to fly in and out of the province in a bid to allow for more tourism in the area, the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation said.

The expansion of the two airports – one in the provincial capital Bamyan City and one 35 kilometeres west of that, Shebartu Airport – will be respectively funded by the Japanese government and the Afghan government.

Transport and Aviation minister Dawood Ali Najafi told TOLOnews that at present the runway of Bamyan City airport is not tarred and only small aircraft can land and take-off, but this will change under the new plan.

A development project funded by Japan and worth about US$15 million is underway to modernize the terminal, the watchtower, and other facilities including the runway, he said.

The upgrade of the systems – both installation and development – is expected to take about a year, he added.

Shebartu Airport is also being renovated in a three-year project to expand its length to three thousand feet and width to two hundred feet with the capacity to take any aircraft.

The Afghan government is footing the initial cost of the expansion with 10 million Afs (US$200,000), Najafi said.

"The tourism industry is one of the most important sources of income for Bamyan residents and improving the facilities in air transport will provide more traffic for foreign tourists to come and so develop the tourism industry in Bamyan," he said.

"Once we complete the airport development project after a year, the tourism will be develop by itself in this province," he added.

Tourism is the main source of income for Bamyan residents after agriculture and livestock. The government believes that the construction of airports with greater aircraft capacity will play an important role in further developing the tourism which will allow for more sustained economic growth in Bamyan.