Afghanistan plans to build the first thermal power plant in two years

Almaty. September 26. Silkroadnews – The Ministry of Energy and Water of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan announced the first thermal power plant (TPP) with a capacity of 50 MW will be built in Afghanistan within the next two years in cooperation with «Ghazanfar» group, Afghan news agency (AfTAG) reports.

TPP will operate using the natural gas from Shiberghan area fields and is expected to provide electricity for about 1 million people in the capital of Balkh province – Mazar-i-Sharif – and its surroundings.

According to the Prime Minister of Afghanistan, Dr. Abdullah, the government is going to support this initiative. President Ashraf Ghani's advisor for energy, Qayoum Qayoumi, also thanked «Ghazanfar» group for investments in a vital sector of the Afghan economy and one more step towards ending Afghanistan's dependence on foreign energy supplies.

In their turn, the representatives of the World Bank expressed readiness to continue cooperation with the Afghan government.

To note, after the launch of a new turbine at «Kajaki» HPP, planned to be held in two weeks, Afghanistan is expected to provide 30% of electricity consumed by the country.