Afghanistan’s electricity utility, which is under Taliban control, says that 1,050 families in the provincial capital of Paktia and Zurmat district have been connected to the electricity grid for the first time.
In a statement issued on Saturday (7 Sunbula), the utility said a project involving the installation of nine electricity distribution transformers had been completed and commissioned in the villages of Chownay, Sheikhan, Dand Ghara, Abdullah Qala, and Faqir Khak in Paktia province’s capital and Zurmat district.
According to the utility, 41 million Afghanis ($615,000) was spent on the project, although it did not disclose the source of the funding.
The project was completed as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said in a report published last week that around 60 percent of Afghans still lack access to electricity.
According to UN data, only 40 to 42 percent of Afghans have access to the public electricity grid, with most of the network concentrated in urban areas, while rural communities remain largely underserved.
Afghanistan imports nearly 80 percent of the electricity it needs from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Iran.
Writer:Saeed Sameer
