Officials from the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development announced today (Saturday) during a presentation of their annual report that the remaining work on the Wakhan-China road will be completed before the onset of winter.

Mohammad Younus Akhundzada, the acting Minister of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, stated that construction work on the bridges, culverts, and retaining walls of the 50-kilometer Wakhan-China road is ongoing.

According to Akhundzada, the Wakhan road was contracted during the Republic era by councils and private companies at a cost of 360 million afghani. With the return of the Islamic Emirate and the suspension of the councils' activities, the construction contract for the 50-kilometer Wakhan road was resumed last year.

The acting minister added, "During a trip, I was accompanied by friends from China and the Chinese ambassador. They wanted to inspect the area to see if a railway line could be constructed along the road. They initially thought several kilometers of tunnels would be needed on this road; however, it was proven to them that not even one kilometer of tunnel is required."

Akhundzada also mentioned that the World Bank has promised to resume its incomplete projects in Afghanistan. 

He stated, "The matter has now progressed to the point where they are considering returning. They abandoned nearly twenty thousand projects halfway and fled the country. We made it clear to them that they left nearly twenty thousand projects unfinished and took with them the salaries of thousands of our employees for a month. This led them to say that they will return."

Officials from the ministry highlighted significant achievements, including the construction of the Kaj Nimroz dam at a cost of two billion afghani, the implementation of a major dam project in the border district of Golestan, Farah, valued at two billion afghani, the Qadis dam in Badghis at a cost of 12.5 million dollars, the construction of small dams in thirteen provinces at a cost of 426 million afghani, the implementation of rural water supply projects across the country at a cost of one billion afghani, and the reconstruction of retaining walls and the construction of hundreds of kilometers of rural roads in 23 provinces.

The ministry officials also emphasized that they are utilizing the domestic budget and assistance from aid organizations to ensure balanced spending across all regions of the country.