Turkmenistan has launched a $2.5 million hydro-electric project to supply power to Afghanistan, government officials told IRIN on Tuesday. According to Second Secretary of the Turkmenistan Embassy in Islamabad, Sardar Nazarnov, the first two poles were installed on Sunday in the northern Afghan province of Jozjan, with full power to be provided to two industrial sites there within six months. On Tuesday, Reuters reported that Turkmenistan was eager to electrify Afghan cities, rebuild its roads and lay rail tracks before exporting its gas and oil through Afghanistan. Nazarnov told IRIN, however, that the move was “part of Turkmenistan’s ongoing policy of helping the Afghan people via good neighbourliness.” Turkmenistan has recently softened its stance towards the Taliban Islamic movement, which currently controls up to 95 percent of Afghan territory.
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
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