Taliban Ministry Signs $3.75 Million Contract for Salt Extraction in Herat
The Taliban’s Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has announced the signing of a contract with a private company worth over 315 million Afghanis for the extraction of salt from the first block of the salt mine located in the Ghurian district of Herat province. The contract was signed on Tuesday between Mullah Hedayatullah Badri, acting head of the ministry, and representatives of the company “Ismail Shirzad Azizi.”
According to the issued statement, the project will be implemented over an area measuring 10.24114 square kilometers in the Nmaxar area of Ghurian. The total investment is declared to be 315,594,000 Afghanis. The contract duration is set for 15 years, and the contracted company is obligated to pay a royalty of 1,500 Afghanis for each ton extracted to the Taliban administration.
The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum emphasized that the company must conduct all its activities transparently and responsibly, in accordance with the Mining Law and relevant procedures. It was also stated that five million Afghanis will be allocated for social services in the surrounding areas of the mine, and the company must fulfill its environmental commitments.
Despite these commitments, the process of awarding large mining contracts by the Taliban administration has consistently raised questions about transparency, oversight, and the actual share for local residents. Experts have previously stressed that transparent management of mines could play a crucial role in economic growth, but the lack of accountable structures has raised concerns about the fair exploitation of natural resources.
The ministry added that the implementation of this project will create direct and indirect employment opportunities for some of the country’s residents.
