Afghanistan Peace CampaignOfficials at the Ministry said that the construction of the Wakhan Road is significant for expanding Afghanistan’s economic relations with China.
The Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development said that the preliminary work on the Wakhan Road, including road construction, excavation, and graveling of 50 kilometers, has been completed.
The construction of this road, which connects Badakhshan to the Yarkand region of China, began last year from the Bazai Gonbad area of Pamir with a length of over fifty kilometers, and it has now reached the zero point between China and Afghanistan.
Officials at the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development have said that the construction of the Wakhan Road is significant for expanding Afghanistan’s economic relations with China.
Najibullah Haroon, spokesperson for the Ministry of Rural Rehabilitation and Development, told TOLOnews: “From the Bazai Gonbad area of the Wakhan district of Badakhshan to the zero point of China, the preliminary work of constructing the 50-kilometer dirt road at a cost of 369 million afghani has been completed.”
Meanwhile, some residents of Badakhshan said that the implementation of infrastructure projects in this province plays an important role in creating job opportunities.
“The Silk Road has been a long-standing dream of the people of Badakhshan, and we are very happy that this road is being opened and used for trade,” Mirajuddin, a resident of Badakhshan, told TOLOnews.
“Roads should be built, and bridges constructed. With such a situation, the movement will increase, and Afghanistan will be connected to China,” Qara Khan, a resident of Pamir Badakhshan, said.
Meanwhile, the Chamber of Commerce and Investment said that connecting Afghanistan to China through the Wakhan Corridor also plays an important role in expanding economic and trade relations.
“If this route is opened to Afghanistan, I think we can export all of Afghanistan’s products, including minerals and raw materials, to China,” Khairuddin Mayel, the deputy of ACCI, said.
“If the Wakhan Corridor is completed and connects Afghanistan to China, it will be very important in the extraction of minerals, the export of raw mineral materials to China, and imports from China,” Sakhi Ahmad Paiman, the first deputy of the Chamber of Industries and Mines said.
The Wakhan Corridor extends nearly 500 kilometers from the city of Faizabad, the center of Badakhshan, to the Yarkand region of China, passing through border heights at an altitude of 5,000 meters above sea level.