AT
Kabul: A Chinese company has expressed its interest in investing $10 billion to mine Afghanistan’s massive lithium reserves and build other infrastructure, the Afghan government said on Thursday. Lithium is a key element of batteries that power electric vehicles, mobile phones, and laptops.
In a statement, the Afghanistan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum said Minister Shahabuddin Delawar met with representatives of a Chinese company it identified as “Gochin.”
Gochin also reportedly offered to develop other infrastructure, including a hydroelectric dam and a new tunnel in the critical Salang gateway connecting eastern Afghanistan with its northern gateway to China and Russia.
The statement said the investment would create 120,000 direct and a million indirect jobs in the country.