Afghanistan Times
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By Farhad Naibkhel-KABUL: The Alokozay Group of Companies, a private enterprise announced Wednesday to build six factories in Kabul by laying down the foundation stones.
The company’s newly-run project costs $350 million, and the factories would produce napkins, food-stuff and cans for beverages.
“Political independency without economic independency will be meaningless. Thus, it’s our goal to lead the country toward self-reliance,” said President Mohammad Ashraf Ghani at the ceremony of laying foundation stone.
He said that balance between import and export would be a good alternative to address all challenges.
“Afghanistan must change from a consumer to an exporter country,” Ghani added.
The president asked the private sector to consider international standards to be good competitor in the markets.
He assured the private sector of the government’s fully support for their further progress, saying it would establish vocational training centers for the private sector.
The president urged all Afghans to invest inside the country, calling the Alokozay company as a good inspiration.
Head of the Afghanistan Industrial Union Sherbaz Kameenzada said the lack of electricity power, asphalted roads and irrigation system were the main challenges for private sector, asking the government to escalate the infrastructure facilities to lead the private sector to the self-sufficiency.
Eng. Khalilullah, the representative for the Alokozay group said the first phase of the factories would be activated by the end of 2017, while the whole factories would start operation at the end of 2018.
“We will struggle to produce enough cans of beverages to meet domestic demands as well as export it to abroad,” he claimed.
Currently, Afghanistan imports empty cans from abroad at a cost of $100 million.
The Alokozay is claimed to have invested one billion dollars in different sectors across the country.
