A Chinese firm is set to invest $200 million in Afghanistan as the Taliban* government okayed the construction of a new city in the capital Kabul, the country's Ministry of Urban Development said on Wednesday.
The ministry stated that the authorities would soon kickstart the process of allocating residential land parcels in the planned "New City of Kabul" once the Taliban's supreme leader Haibatullah Akhundzada signed the papers.
"In order to implement scientific and technical experience and achievements, the plan and design of the new Kabul project have been reviewed and its detailed plan has been revised according to the master plan," Madar Ali Karimi Bamyani, the deputy minister of the Ministry of Urban Development, told reporters in Kabul.
On the other hand, the acting minister of the Ministry of Urban Development Mawlawi Hamdullah Nomani revealed that at least 15 to 20 percent of Kabul's buildings were constructed without following the building norms.
"15 to 20 percent of houses are built without standards, and we had a discussion on this issue with the Kabul Municipality," Nomani said.
Nomani elaborated that almost one-third work in a project, being built by a Qatari construction firm in the Khushal Khan locality of Kabul, has been completed.
"There was a project in the Khushal Khan area with a Qatari company that has progressed by 30 percent," Nomani concluded.
*under UN sanctions for terrorism