KABUL (SW) – The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development (MRRD) of the Islamic Emirate has signed a contract to begin the second phase of the Wakhan Road in Badakhshan.
The agreement was signed on Thursday during a ceremony in Kabul with a local company.
Mohammad Yonus Akhundzada, the acting minister of the MRRD, stated that the contract for the second phase of the Wakhan Road, covering 71 kilometers at a cost of 143 million afghanis, was signed with the Afghan Sadaqat Company for one year.
He added, “Work on this project will begin once the weather warms up, and this area will become a route where citizens can travel to China by small vehicles.”
The Wakhan Road, which connects Badakhshan to a particular region in China, is the shortest transit route and one of Afghanistan’s major economic projects.
Ghawsuddin, the head of the Sadaqat Company, pledged that the second phase of the Wakhan Road will be completed within the specified time and to the required standard.
“We assure the ministry officials that we will begin our work with high quality as soon as the weather allows, and we will make every effort to complete this project by the end of the year,” he said.
Previously, some U.S. media outlets had reported that security and financial obstacles were hindering the progress of the Wakhan Road project, a claim that the Islamic Emirate dismisses as baseless.
