KABUL: Afghan officials have signed contracts for two major mining projects in northern Afghanistan, pushing ahead with plans to develop the country’s mineral reserves but drawing criticism over the involvement of a former minister in the project.
The deals were signed in Washington on Friday with mining and investment group Centar and its operating company Afghan Gold and Minerals Co. to develop two sites in Badakhshan and Sar-e Pul provinces with potentially major gold and copper deposits.
The deals, reviving projects that have been stalled for years, follow a push by US and Afghan authorities to develop mineral resources estimated to be worth some $1 trillion and seen as vital to building a functioning economy in Afghanistan after four decades of war. |