30% of Factories Halted in Kunar After Power Plant Shutdown

With the shutdown of the Managi power plant in Kunar, the operations of 30 percent of the province’s industrial factories have come to a halt.

Although promises have been made for years to build new power plants on the Kunar River, the Managi power plant—built during the previous government—has been out of operation for the past three years.

Officials at the Kunar Chamber of Commerce and Investment say this has stopped the activity of 30 percent of factories in the province, leaving industrialists worried.

Ziaullah, head of the Kunar Chamber of Commerce and Investment, said: “So far, around 30 percent of factories have been closed. Other factories are running on solar and diesel power, which comes at a very high cost. Our request is that the repair work on the Managi power plant be completed quickly so that the factories can restart and the problems can be resolved.”

Some other industrialists in Kunar say that due to the lack of government electricity, they have turned to diesel generators, which have caused them heavy financial losses. They urge that the problem be addressed as soon as possible.

Industrialist Ashiqullah said: “The lack of electricity has severely affected our work. Even when we buy 200 Afghanis worth of fuel per day, it doesn’t last half a day. That makes 6,000 Afghanis per month. If government electricity were available, the costs would be far lower compared to diesel, as we now have to fuel our own generators to run the factory.”

Another industrialist, Musafar Khan Mamund, said: “The sandals that are sold for 300–400 Afghanis in Jalalabad cannot be sold at that price here because it is not profitable for us. In Jalalabad, they have government electricity, but in Kunar, there is none. The electricity problem is huge. The lack of power has pushed our work toward collapse, and we cannot afford to set up solar power either.”

Meanwhile, officials from the Kunar Electricity Department say that the contract for the reconstruction of the Managi power plant has been put out for open bidding, and the winning company will begin practical repair work.

Omar Gul Naib, head of Kunar Electricity, said: “The companies that applied for the reconstruction of the Managi power plant have been given all the conditions and guidelines. Based on those, they will prepare their proposals, and the winning company will begin repair work. We want quality work from them—not something that lasts only two or three months and then breaks down again, like the current situation.”

This comes as a number of private companies have recently begun investing in solar energy projects in Afghanistan to help resolve the electricity shortage, with hopes that such initiatives will ease the country’s power crisis to some extent.