Taliban Launches Work on Industrial Park in Afghanistan’s Balkh Province

The Taliban administration in Balkh has begun work on an industrial park in the district of Dourahi Hairatan, saying the project could ease part of the shortage of industrial land in the province and create jobs.

Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar Akhund, the economic deputy to the Taliban’s prime minister, said at the foundation-laying ceremony for the Imam Shafiq Balkhi Industrial Park on Friday that the administration was seeking to gradually turn Afghanistan into a production-based economy. According to his office, the ceremony was held in the Dourahi Hairatan area of Balkh.

He said one of the Taliban administration’s priorities was to use young labour, link industry and production to markets, and bring quality products to regional and global markets. However, the remarks came as the Taliban administration has repeatedly spoken in recent years about economic and production plans, while the private sector still faces widespread financial and banking restrictions.

Baradar said the industrial park reflected the Taliban administration’s commitment and vision for the development of an industrial economy. He also said the project could reduce dependence on imports and create jobs for thousands of people.

The economic deputy to the Taliban prime minister described Balkh as one of the country’s important commercial, transit and industrial provinces, and said Hairatan port should not be only a route for the entry of goods and ordinary travel, but should become an important corridor for exporting processed goods and Afghan products.

He called on the international community to fully open the way for official economic relations with Afghanistan and to end restrictions imposed on Afghanistan’s financial and banking sectors. Baradar also urged industrialists to make use of the opportunities available in the industrial park and promised that the Taliban administration would support them.

According to information published by the Taliban administration, the Balkh industrial park will be built on 11,000 jeribs of land and is expected to provide facilities for processing raw materials, producing goods and exporting products in various sectors. Hairatan port in northern Afghanistan is considered one of the country’s most important commercial gateways to Central Asia.