During a press conference at the Government Information and Media Center, officials from the Ministry of Water and Energy presented their annual performance report.
Key highlights include the resumption of construction on the Pashdan Dam in Herat Province, the completion of 37% of the first phase of the Bakhshabad Dam in Farah Province, the completion of the Shah wa Aros Dam in Kabul Province, and the third phase of the Kamal Khan Dam. In addition, the first section of the second phase of the Kajaki Dam in Helmand Province and the construction of the Tori Dam in Zabul Province have been completed.
Over the past year, the implementation of 140 small water dams has started, of which 117 projects have been completed. 6 reinforcement projects have been implemented on the shores of the Amu River. The design of 173 projects and the technical review of 157 small and medium water facilities have been completed, and 250 other projects have been implemented with the assistance of partner organizations.
Key measures by this ministry to institutionalize the water and electricity sector in the country include the development of a five-year development plan for the electricity sector, the drafting of four regulations and the approval of six water management procedures, MoUs with partner organizations, the development of investment strategies for water and electricity projects, the approval of internal affairs policy, and the finalization of the draft of five water management regulations.
According to the ministry, other significant initiatives over the past year include the collection of statistics and economic analysis of canals and dams of various sizes, analysis of surface and groundwater statistics, the development and expansion of the national water resources information bank, and the establishment of information systems for water facilities and electricity.
Officials said: To mitigate water wastage, traditional irrigation systems have been modernized. In the domain of electricity production and distribution, seven licenses were issued, and permits for the utilization of water resources were granted to 1,417 legal entities and individuals. Continuous monitoring of 122 water facilities was conducted, and 275 hydro-meteorological stations across the country were maintained and monitored.
Officials added that the country’s water geography has been divided into five major river basins and 35 sub-river basins, which are managed by central and regional authorities.
Furthermore, notable achievements include the initiation of practical work on the Arghandi substation with a 500-kw capacity, the commencement of an 8-megawatt electricity generation project and the extension of distribution networks in Paktika, Farah, and Uruzgan, the completion of a 10-megawatt solar power project in Naghlu, the initiation of practical work on the 500-kw transmission line from Dasht-e-Alwan to Arghandi, feasibility studies for solar and wind energy generation projects with a 140-megawatt capacity, and the establishment of a secretariat as a coordination hub to manage TAP project related affairs.
The ministry’s priorities for the current year include drafting and approving 14 legislative documents on water management, conducting studies and preparing construction plans for 581 development projects valued at over 10 billion AFN in the water management sector, implementing 265 projects, collecting and analyzing surface and groundwater data, assessing climate impacts on river and water basins, resolving water disputes, monitoring water facilities, and conducting feasibility studies for six projects with a combined capacity of 280 megawatts. #
