The Kabul Tribune (KT) — The Taliban have approved a five-year national electricity development plan aimed at expanding domestic power generation, strengthening transmission and distribution networks, and reducing Afghanistan's dependence on imported electricity.
According to the Taliban's Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, the plan—previously endorsed by the Economic Commission chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar—has now received final approval from the Taliban's supreme leader.
The office said the plan includes 25 electricity generation projects using domestic energy resources, 13 ongoing and 23 newly planned power transmission projects, 21 ongoing and 21 newly planned substation projects, and 34 new electricity distribution projects.
The Taliban said the projects are expected to significantly strengthen Afghanistan's energy sector and reduce the country's reliance on imported electricity once they are completed.
The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs added that implementing the plan will support Afghanistan's economic reconstruction, enhance financial self-reliance and contribute to the expansion of the energy sector, with the goal of improving energy security and achieving greater self-sufficiency.
Afghanistan imports a large share of its electricity from neighboring countries, including Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Iran. Successive Afghan governments have sought to expand domestic power generation through hydroelectric, solar, wind and thermal energy projects to reduce dependence on imports and improve access to reliable electricity nationwide.
