First-ever international airport to be built in Ghazni

Last week, Pajhwok Afghan News reported that the first-ever international airport will be built in Afghanistan’s province of Ghazni. PAN reported that the foundation stone has already been laid by the provincial governor, Musa Khan Akbarzada. The airport, which is scheduled to be completed in 2013, will be built in the Deh Yak district of the province. The residents of Ghazni will not be the only ones to benefit from this project. Residents in the neighboring provinces of Logar, Paktika, Wardak and Zabul will also benefit from the new airport. The construction project will not only provide work opportunities to thousands of people, it will also make travel to foreign countries easier for more Afghans.

April 15, 2012   Posted in: Afghanistan's Economy, Job Creation, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

New school building inaugurated in Nangarhar, another to be built in Parwan

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Education announced today that a building for a vocational high school specializing in agriculture was inaugurated in the Rodat district of Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province. Officials as well as students and teachers were present in a special opening ceremony. According to a ministry official, the school building was built in 5 months at a cost of $84,000. The new building has 4 classrooms, 1 administrative room, a laboratory, and 3 restrooms.

Elswhere in Parwan province’s Jabal Saraj district, a foundation stone for a new building for a boys’ high school was laid down. Officials as well as students and teachers were present in a special ceremony marking the occasion. The new building will be built in 15 months at a cost of $500,000. Once completed, it will have 22 classrooms, and 4 administrative rooms. With the construction of this new school building, the educational needs of the students in the area will be better met.

April 8, 2012   Posted in: Education, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Uruzgan gets first university, and new medical faculty to be built for Nangarhar University

Afghanistan’s central province of Uruzgan opened it’s first-ever public sector university last week, officials announced to the Afghan media. Afghan officials, such as the deputy governor, parliament members, as well as teachers and students participated in the inaugural ceremony. Resident of the province see the establishment of this school as a major achievement, especially for those who cannot travel outside the province due to financial difficulties. The school will help improve the overall education system in the province. At the moment, the school only has an education faculty, however, several new faculties are expected to be created soon, according to the provincial education officials.

In other education news, Afghan media also reported that the foundation stone was laid down yesterday for a new building for the medical faculty at Nangarhar University. The project costs have not been announced yet, however, it is being partly funded by private Afghan businessmen.

March 31, 2012   Posted in: Education, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Cement factory to be built in Herat province

Wahidullah Shahrani, Afghan Minister of Mines

The Iranian company Peshgaman Sanat-i-Majad will invest $150 million in establishing a cement factory that will produce one million tons of cement in the Zinda Jan district of Herat province, according to a report today from Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN).

Afghanistan’s Minister of Mines, Wahidullah Shahrani said that this project will boost the country’s annual revenue by $10 million. Under the agreement signed with the Iranian company, Afghanistan will get a royalty of two dollars per ton of cement production and 20 percent of the factory income in tax.

The agreement also includes coal extraction. The company will give Afghanistan $20 as tax per a ton of coal extraction. The coal will be extracted from the Pahlawanan mine. Also, the Iranian company has agreed to construct 11 kilometers of road, hire Afghans for the work, and establish a clinic, and construct houses, as well as a masjid for the workers in the area.

According to the PAN report, a recreational park will also be created and education facilities provided for workers’ children. The report also added that this will not only increase revenue for the government, but will also reduce cement prices.

March 18, 2012   Posted in: Afghanistan's Economy, Education, Job Creation, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Afghanistan is victorious at the 2012 ACC U-16 Challenge Cup

 

Afghanistan's U-16 Cricket Team

Afghanistan’s U-16 (Under 16) cricket team went undefeated and won the ACC (Asian Cricket Council) U-16 Challenge Cup today in Thailand. The event had started on March 3rd in Chiang Mail, Thailand. Besides Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, Maldives Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) participated in the event.

On day one, Afghanistan took on Maldives and defeated them by a massive 316 runs. Afghanistan reached 353 for 5 off 40 overs. Maldives only reached 37 off 22.1 overs. Afghanistan’s captain, Jawed Ahmadzai, even scored the first century of the event by scoring an amazing 161 runs. On day two, Afghanistan took on Bhutan and easily defeated them by 311 runs. Afghanistan went 354 for 5 off 40 overs, and Bhutan went 43 all out off 21 overs. Then for their third win, they faced off against the tough team from the UAE and still defeated them by 2 wickets. Following that win, they took on China and won that game by 349 runs.

In the final match, they took on Qatar and won by 92 runs to wrap it all up and become the champions. Afghanistan scored 200 runs all out off 37.1 overs, and Qatar scored only 108 runs all out off 31 overs. On top of that, in a closing ceremony held at the conclusion of the tournament, Afghanistan’s Parvis Khan was given the batsman of the tournament award, and his team-made Naween-ul Haq was given the bowler of the tournament award.

This win shows that the future of cricket is very bright in Afghanistan, and one day, they will join the ranks of such teams as Australia, India and South Africa.

March 10, 2012   Posted in: Afghan Sports News  Comments Closed

Hospital opened in Khost, 90 schools to be built in Ghazni

A new maternity hospital was opened in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Khost, Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) reported today. The hospital which was opened by the international humanitarian organization, the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), is a 56-bed maternity hospital which has a delivery room that offers obstetric care for normal and complicated deliveries, and an operating area for emergency surgeries. According to the PAN report, all healthcare services and medicines will be free of charge.

In other good news, PAN also reported last week that 90 new schools will be built during the next solar year in Afghanistan’s Ghazni province. According to the Education Director, Ihsanullah Nashir, the construction of the school buildings will take place simultaneously.

March 4, 2012   Posted in: Education, Health News, Reconstruction and Development, Women's Rights  2 Comments

Construction work starts on new recreation park in Helmand, and new customs building in Kunar

Construction work has started on a recreation park in Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan’s southern province of Helmand, according to a recent report from Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN). The project is expected to cost about $50,000 and most of the money is being donated by the local residents. The part is being constructed over half an acre of land, and it is expected to have many facilities.

Meanwhile, also according to a Pajhwok Afghan News report, the foundation stone for a new customs building has been laid in Afghanistan’s eastern province of Kunar. This project has been funded by the Ministry of Finance, and is estimated to cost an approximate $908,724 or 45 million Afs.  This project should take a year to complete, according to Kunar’s provincial governor, Sayed Fazlullah Wahidi.  This facility is being built with the hope that it will spur transit trade activity on the road that connects the Nawa Pass area of Kunar with Pakistan’s Bajaur and Mohmand tribal areas.

February 28, 2012   Posted in: Afghanistan's Economy, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Afghan boxer wins WBU title!

Hamid Rahimi

On Friday night, February 24th, in front of a sold out crowd in Hamburg Germany, Afghan boxer Hamid Rahimi made history and defeated Ruslan Rodivich from Belarus to become the interim World Boxing Union (WBU) middle weight champion.

The fight was scheduled for 12 rounds, but had to be stopped in the 8th since Rodivich was getting out punched and was falling into serious trouble. with this win, Rahimi improves his record to 20 wins; he’s only lost one time.

Rahimi was born on September 12, 1983 in Kabul, Afghanistan. He has announced to the media on several occasions that his dream is to host the first ever professional boxing event in Kabul.

February 25, 2012   Posted in: Afghan Sports News  2 Comments

New health facility opened in Kandahar

Last week, a new health facility was opened in Afghanistan’s southern province of Kandahar, according to Afghan media reports. The facility, which took a year to build, at a cost of $200,000 was opened in the Maroof district. Funding for the project came from the United States. According to the Bakhtar News Agency (BNA), the clinic will be open 24 hours and will be staffed with 16 medical professionals. People will be able to go this clinic to take care of basic medical needs, vaccinations as well as minor surgeries. The clinic will not only provide medical services for residents of Maroof, but 10 other nearby villages as well, according to the BNA report.

February 5, 2012   Posted in: Health News, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Modern health facility to be built in Herat

Pajhwok Afghan News (PAN) reported today that the foundation stone for modern 50-bed hospital was laid in the Shindand district of western Herat province. The stone was laid in a ceremony attended by Afghanistan’s acting Public Health Minster, Dr. Suraya Dalil, US military official, and local Afghan officials. The $5.4 million funding for the project will come from the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), and the project is expected to be completed in 18 months. According to the PAN report, the one-story structure will be built on 15 acres of land, and will have an emergency unit, a laboratory, surgical, maternity wards, and an outdoor patient department (OPD). The facility will have modern medical equipment, added the report.

January 28, 2012   Posted in: Health News, Reconstruction and Development  Comments Closed

Afghanistan to receive grant to boost electricity production

Afghanistan’s Ministry of Finance announced this weekend that an agreement has been signed where the Asian Development Bank (ADB) will grant Afghanistan with $75.4 million. The money is going to be used to boost electricity production so that more than 50,000 residents of Gerishk district in Helmand province will have electricity.

According to Afghan media reports, 30 kilometers of electric lines will be replaced, and electricity distribution, and measurement systems will be installed. The work will be done by the Afghan Breshna Corporation, which operates and manages electric power generation, import, transmission, and distribution throughout Afghanistan on a commercial basis. The work is expected to be completed in two years.

This project will not only make life much easier for the residents of this Helmandi district, but it will also create hundreds of jobs, said Omar Zakhilwal, Afghanistan’s Minister of Finance.

January 22, 2012   Posted in: Afghanistan's Economy, Job Creation, Reconstruction and Development  One Comment

Reports: Mega poultry farm to be setup in Nangarhar and a new school building inaugurated in Faryab

The foundation stone for a mega poultry farm was laid yesterday in the Kama district of Afghanistan’s eastern province of Nangarhar, according to a Pajhwok Afghan News report. Senior officials told the news agency that it will employ over 1000 Afghan men and women, and that the project is expected to take three and half years to complete. Mohammad Asif Rahimi, Afghanistan’s Agriculture Minister, said in a news conference that the project will boost the local economy, and serve as a good alternative to poppy cultivation in the province.

Last week, Afghanistan’s Bakhtar News Agency reported that a new building for a middle school in the Doulatabad district of Faryab province was inaugurated. According to Afghan education ministry officials, the new building took one year to build, and it has seven classrooms, 4 administrative rooms, as well as other educational facilities.

January 16, 2012   Posted in: Afghanistan's Economy, Education, Job Creation, Reconstruction and Development, Women's Rights  2 Comments