
Displaying items by tag: Ministry of Mines and Petroleum
90% of exploration work completed at Jabal al-Saraj cement plant
29 January 2025Afghanistan: The Jabal al-Saraj cement plant project in Parwan province has completed 90% of initial exploration work, along with the drilling of 18 deep wells for mineral sampling, according to Tolo news.
The facility has been contracted between the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum and a Qatari firm, and is valued at US$220m.
Mohammad Idris Anwari, the governor of Parwan, said "The contracting company has completed 90% of the exploration work within six months, ahead of schedule. We are hopeful that the remaining construction and technical work will be completed within two years."
The plant will initially produce 3000t/day (0.96Mt/yr) of cement, rising to 9000t/day (2.9Mt/yr) in later phases. The project will reportedly create 5000 jobs.
New cement plant in Jawzjan province
29 October 2024Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed a US$163m contract for the construction of a cement plant in northern Jawzjan province. The plant will produce 3000t/day of cement under a 30-year contract and is expected to employ about 1200 local people.
In an attempt to become self-sufficient in its cement production, the Ministry has also recently signed contracts worth US$476m with domestic and international companies across Parwan, Kandahar and Herat provinces.
Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has awarded three new contracts for the construction of cement plants in Herat, Kandahar and Parwan. Xinhua News Agency has reported the total value of the contracts as US$500m.
The government aims to achieve national self-sufficiency in cement production by rebuilding destroyed cement plants and building new ones. Plans are in motion to grant further contracts for the construction of cement plants in Jawzjan, Logar and Samangan.
Government awards contract for Shur Andam cement plant
03 April 2023Afghanistan: The government's Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has awarded a contract for the construction of the 1Mt/yr Shur Andam cement plant in Kandahar Province. TOLO News has reported that planned investments in the project totaled US$100m. The government said that construction will commence before April 2024. Production will begin at a 'low level,' and in the longer term the government expects to employ 5000 people at the site.
Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum close to awarding contracts for Jabal Siraj and Samangan cement plant expansions
03 April 2023Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum says that it will 'soon' award contracts to carry out planned expansions of the Jabal Siraj and Samangan cement plants. Together, the projects will increase both plants' cement capacity to 1.21Mt/yr. Local press has reported that the Jabal Siraj plant project will cost US$170m and the Samangan plant project will cost US$136m.
Afghanistan: The Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has reported progress in discussions on projects totalling an investment of US$350m, including improvements to the Jabal Siraj and Samangan cement plants worth US$170m and US$136m respectively.
Wadsam reports that the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industries has voiced concerns as to delays caused by the lengthy approval process for the ‘much-needed projects.’ With the successful conclusion of these talks, the plans will require the ratification of the High Economic Council and subsequently the Afghan Cabinet.
Afghan government cancels contract for Ghori Cement
06 June 2018Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has cancelled the Afghan Investment Company’s (AIC) contract to operate Ghori cement factory in Baghlan province. The AIC has been accused of not meeting a contractual obligation to upgrade the plant, according to Salam Watandar radio. Minister Nargis Nehan said that the company has due to invest US$152m in the unit but that it had only spent US$51m on the project. In addition it had acquired an outstanding loan of US$13m from the ministry. Mehmood Karzai, brother of the former president Hamid Karzai, is a shareholder in AIC.
Afghanistan: The Ministry of Mines & Petroleum plans to re-issue a tender for the Jabal Saraj cement plant. The winning company will have to invest US$170m into the project to build 1Mt/yr plant, according to Tolo News. Previously, a local company won the tendering process to renovate the unit but the High Economic Council has decided to find a company with more industry experience.
Ghori plant contract cancelled by government
10 February 2017Afghanistan: The Afghan government has cancelled a private contract to run the Ghori cement plant citing irregularities in the ownership of the company in 2016. It said it was not properly notified about a change in ownership and the company also owes it unpaid taxes and fees since it was privatised in 2006, according to Reuters. Zabihullah Sarwari, a spokesman at the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum, said that the government was notified of the sale of the original shareholding after it had been completed.
Local businessman Javid Jaihoon reportedly purchased the business from Afghan Investment Co (AIC), a group of investors including the brother of the former president Hamid Karzai. Jaihoon told Reuters that he had paid all the government fees relating to the company and that he has invested nearly US$60m in the plant.
Operation at the cement pant is expected to continue for the time being. The government now intends to put the company up for international tender.
Afghan Jabalo Saraj cement plant to reopen in 2017
01 February 2016Afghanistan: The Jabalo Saraj cement plant will reopen in early 2017 according to the ministry of mines and petroleum. A spokesman for the ministry said that the plant is being rebuilt to local media, reported by BBC Monitoring.
The Jabalo Saraj cement plant closed in 1996. The ministry of mines and petroleum has allocated US$1.5m for the reconstruction effort using local engineers.
At present only the Ghori cement plant is operational in the country. According to the ministry it produces up to 420,000t/yr and it only meets 6% of the country's demand.