The multi-billion dollar Hajigak project is not stuck due to security concerns, and the new mining laws passed by the Afghanistan government will make it easier for Indian companies to operate there, said Shaida Mohammad Abdali, Afghanistan’s Ambassador to India.
Participating in an interactive session, organised by the MCC Chamber of Commerce and Industry (formerly Merchants’ Chamber of Commerce) here on Monday, he said that while there were a number of stages that a project of the order of Hajigak mine development had to go through, addressing security concern was not one of them. “There are evacuation issues, rail links are needed, logistics have to be planned and then there are also technical issues,’’ he said in response to a query.
A consortium of six Indian companies, led by the Steel Authority of India, had won the concession for three iron ore mines in the Hajigak region in 2011. They were slated to invest $10.8 billion for setting up steel and power plants, besides mining the deposit. However, in view of the security risks in wake of the withdrawal of U.S. troops, there was a go slow on the project along with a reported scale-down of investments by a recession hit industry.
Mr. Abdali was here to speak on trade and investment opportunities in Afghanistan.
Pointing out that his country was a virgin market, the envoy said his country was keen that India should not be late in availing itself of the emerging opportunities, which were up for grabs. “India has been good to us, my worry is that you will be late,” he said.
He reiterated that there was sensational reporting about his country and ground realities were different from the perceptions about Afghanistan. “Not only dry fruits, our fresh fruits are of good quality, and there is scope for value addition there, we import 90 per cent of our medicines valued at $$800 million,” he said highlighting some of the areas of opportunities. Investment opportunities were also there in healthcare, packaging, energy and aviation, he said.
Mr. Abdali said that alternative routes for transit trade were being planned, and one such was the ‘Lapis Lazuili’ route, which would enable to connect his country with Central Asia and Europe.
It would pass through Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey, and is intended to reduce barriers facing transit trade and develop a Custom Procedure Integration in the region. According to the Afghan Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the road-cum-rail route would provide an alternative and safe route, bypassing some of the Afghanistan’s neighbouring countries, which were not conducive to trade.
