Investors are tapping their money in Afghanistan’s rich mineral industry.
Known for its vast unexploited mineral deposits and precious stones, Afghanistan has attracted investments in its coal, copper and iron industry. China Metallurgical Construction is investing $3.39 billion in a project to develop the Aynak copper mine, 30 km from Kabul. “Geologically, Afghanistan is a paradise,” Abdel Rahman Ashraf, a German-trained geologist and Afghan President Hamid Karzai’s chief mining and energy adviser, said.
The telecommunication sector has been also thriving in the country after the government passed a liberal telecommunication law and attracted over $1 billion of investments in the mobile phone industry. A few years ago, Afghans had to travel to neighboring Pakistan to make international phone calls. Now more than 5 million Afghans have cell phones and the number of users is expected to double within the next two years. “Companies have made tremendous profits and services have expanded to millions of people. In a country which didn’t have a landline system they have developed a really vibrant and effective cell phone industry,” says Engle.
“Afghanistan is close to big markets like India and China and it could be a transit country for the transportation of good and energy from west to east. We hope one day we will also belong to the modern world,” Ashraf said.
It’s not all paradise, clearly. The rising power of the Taliban, political corruption and illegal opium trafficking all retard economic growth. Although poppy cultivation is down by 19% in 2008, according to a UN report, the Afghan economy is still dependent on the plant and heroin production.
