Afghanistan: Private companies start extracting marble from mine in Baghlan

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 26 : The Ministry of Mines and Petroleum has signed a five-year contract with two companies to extract marble from a mine in the Khwaja Zaid Valley of the Doshi district of Baghlan province, Khaama Press reported.
The Khaama Press News Agency is an online news service for Afghanistan.
The Department of Mines representative stated that this mine has two blocks, and the firms will pay the government 900 Afghanis each tonne. According to the governor of Baghlan, the extraction of this mine will assist the local population by enhancing infrastructure and generating employment.
Operations are now regulated, and according to Adel, a representative of the Baghlan Mining Directorate, "With small-scale companies, each of them has a contract for five years, and these companies start their work according to the plan and contract that was concluded," Khaama Press reported.
Baghlan's governor in response stated that funds from the province's mines would be used for infrastructural initiatives such as constructing and maintaining roads, bridges, and culverts.
Governor of Baghlan province, Mawlawi Abdul Rahman Haqqani, said: "We assure the people that the work will be done safely and properly in this mine, and we assure the people that public services will be provided to them."
"We request that the damaged condition of our roads and culverts be addressed because it is necessary," said Mohammad Yousuf, the district governor of the Doshi district of Baghlan, as per Khaama Press.
According to company representatives, the marble the two companies export will be marketed locally and internationally.
"The materials that are extracted, we are trying to cover domestic needs first, and in the next step, we will have talks with countries like Turkey, Uzbekistan, and China, with whom we will sign business contracts," said Mohammad Nabi, the manager of one contracting company.