The Afghan Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) on Sunday announced that the bidding process for constructing three cement plants in Jabal-ul-Siraj district of Parwan province, Ghori in Baghlan province and Hear province began on September 22nd. The bidding will continue until November 5th and the final list of the tender winners would be announced in February, 2014.
Wahidullah Shahrani, the Minister of Mines and Petroleum, urged all Afghan and foreign investors to send in their applications for the three cement plants.
"The biding process began on September 22. Interested investors can send their applications before November 5th to the Ministry. The Ministry will announce the winners in February, 2014," said Mr. Shahrani.
According to reports, the Ministry's working team in coordination with the US Defense Ministry, and under the technical guidance of two foreign organizations, have finalized the above places for constructing the cement plants.
Mr. Shahrani added that Afghan experts have studied the documents and carried out a thorough legal, economic and geological survey of the places.
The proposed cements plants are expected to produce 1 million ton of cement annually. According to a Ministry of Mines report, Afghanistan currently produces 1,000 ton of cement daily, but the country requires seven million ton of cement per year. To fill this gap of demand and supply, the MoMP has decided to construct three more cement plants across the country.