Works on construction of 21 dams to start in the near future in Afghanistan

Afghans thanking India for re-building the Salma Dam

The President of Afghanistan, Dr. Ashraf Ghani, announced that the government is expected to start works on the construction of 21 water dams in the near future with the aim to boost the agriculture sector which is largely dependent on foreign exports.
President Ghani expressed concerns regarding the balance of imports and exports in the country, saying Afghanistan was once an exporter of wheat but currently imports millions of tons of wheat on annual basis. President Ghani says that the government is focused on expanding the exports of the country in a bid to reduce the imports of products from outside the country, insisting on necessary steps to be taken in order to increase the agricultural productivity. Since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, the International Community, especially the Indian government, have played a key role in construction of dams in Afghanistan. India last year completed the reconstruction of Salma Dam. Built on Harirod river, the Salma Dam produces 42 megawatt of electricity and irrigates around 70,000 hectares of agricultural land.