Abdul Latif Mansour, acting Minister of Energy and Water, announced on Saturday a new strategy to delineate the borders between Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan, which were eroded due to flooding.
Mansour stated that this plan, based on directives from the leader of the Islamic Emirate, will be carried out in collaboration with the Ministries of Interior, Defense, General Directorate of Intelligence, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
The acting Minister of Energy and Water said, "Our border with Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan has been eroded due to floods. The important thing is that we are undertaking essential work to identify past borders, and we shared this issue with His Excellency Amir al-Mu'minin twenty days ago."
Allocating 200 million afghani for the reconstruction of the Amu River area, progress in completing four major dams including Kamal Khan, Shah wa Aros, Tori, and Pashdan, the extension of 500-kilovolt transmission lines from Turkmenistan, the construction of check dams, attracting investments for solar power generation, and creating a new plan to identify the borders between Afghanistan and neighboring countries affected by flooding were highlighted as the ministry’s key achievements over the past year.
Mansour also highlighted Afghanistan’s need for water management and energy production, stating that the ministry aims to achieve self-sufficiency in this field through the construction of large dams and the use of water, wind, and solar resources.
Ministry officials emphasized the proper use of the country’s water resources and ensuring Iran's water rights, stating that managing Afghanistan’s water resources will not harm any country.
Farooq Azam, Senior Advisor to the Ministry of Energy and Water, said; "None of our actions are intended to harm our neighbors, and we have not used more than our fair share of water to the detriment of our neighbors, nor do we intend to."
Rafiullah Stanikzai, head of Water Programs at the Ministry of Energy and Water, stated, "The ministry has developed programs based on Afghanistan's fundamental rights within the country, and by implementing them, God willing, our neighbors will not be harmed. We aim to achieve good results in agriculture, drinking water, and energy production within Afghanistan without causing any damage to our neighbors."
Meanwhile, Matiullah Abid, the ministry's spokesperson, announced that the ministry has proposed to the Ministry of Finance the initiation and resumption of 581 incomplete and new projects in water management and resource identification, valued at approximately 10.5 billion Afghanis.
Abid said, "The Ministry of Energy and Water plans to implement 581 development projects, including new and transitional projects, valued at a total of 10.5 billion afghani for comprehensive water resource management in the current fiscal year. The planning for these studies and construction has been completed."
According to the Ministry of Energy and Water, Afghanistan has the capacity to produce 23,000 megawatts of electricity from water resources, 67,000 megawatts from wind resources, 222,000 megawatts from solar resources, and 6,000 megawatts from thermal resources.
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