The Afghan Industry and Commerce Ministry says it will invest more than $1 million in developing a major industrial park in the northern Balkh Province.
On July 13 Samir Rasa, the spokesman for the ministry, told Radio Free Afghanistan that the ministry would invest in developing infrastructure at the Amir Ali Sher Nawai Park in the near future.
The industrial park, located on the outskirts of Balk’s capital, Mazar-e Sharif, had about 300 factories in 2014. But today it is mired in financial problems.
Insecurity and the failure of government policies that support investors are the main reasons behind its ongoing financial woes and a reduction of factories, according to international media reports.
The factories that once operated at Amir Ali Sher Navai Industrial Park included food production, clothing, and construction materials, which constituted 25 percent of supplies needed in the northern provinces of Afghanistan.
Earlier, officials of this industrial park had announced its closure. But now the ministry says it is ready to invest in the park’s revival.
Balkh Province continues to play an important role in commerce and trade due to its proximity to the neighboring Central Asian countries of Uzbekistan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.