The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) said in a statement that the construction of a pipeline to transfer gas from Sheberghan to Mazar-e-Sharif began on Saturday.

The project will cost 609 million Afs and will be funded by the interim government.

The acting Minister of the MoMP, Shuhabuddin Delawar, said that the pipeline will be 95 km and that the project will be completed in three years.

“This will start from Shebarghan and will reach Kod-e-Barq of Mazar-e-Sharif. Prior to this, about 52 years ago, a pipeline was constructed here. But that pipeline is old and worn-out now,” he said.

The pipeline will carry 170,000 cubic meters of gas daily.

Delawar also said that the contract for the Amu River basin has been signed with a Chinese company and that the company is expected to invest $148 million. He said that 16 wells will be ready for extraction within one next year.

Delawar confirmed that there is a need for the processing of the oil which will also take place inside the country.

“Currently in Hairatan, in Mazar-e-Sharif, there are factories for refining and we are trying to improve their capacity so 100 percent of the processing is performed in Afghanistan,” Delawar said.

This comes as the Afghanistan Chamber of Industry and Mines (ACIM) said that opportunities for investment by foreign countries have been created.

“There is a need for investment in Afghanistan. There is also an opportunity laid out for it, particularly all Chinese companies want to invest in mines processing, energy, and also in health sectors,” said Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, deputy head of the ACIM.