BAMYAN CITY (PAN): With the creation of several check-posts and deployment of 1,700 personal, security would improve around the Hajigak iron-ore mine in central Bamyan province, officials said on Sunday.
The mine in Shibar district would be awarded for excavation to an international company in a month, Jawad Omar, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Mines, told Pajhwok Afghan News.
Construction of security posts was underway on hilltops around the mine, Omar said, adding security personnel provided by the Ministry of Interior would be responsible for ensure peace in the area.
The central province was peaceful, but threats from neighbouringWardak and Parwan existed, Abdur Rahman Ahmadi, the Bamyan governor's spokesman, said. The excavation project would provide jobs for the locals, he hoped.
Haji Yousuf, an elder from the Kalu area, said: "There are 200 families living here. Most of our youth are unemployed." He praised establishment of security posts, hoping the excavation effort would generate employment opportunities.
Located across the Hindu Kush Mountains between Bamyan and MaidanWardak provinces, the mine with 550 metres depth was discovered in 1960. If developed, it will provide over 30,000 Afghans with jobs and contribute an estimated $3 billion to the cash-strapped country's revenue.
International companies from France, the US, the UK, India, Pakistan and China have offer bids to undertake the excavation scheme, according to officials.
Security transition to Afghan forces started from the relatively peaceful Bamyan province, but militant attacks have happened in several areas after the switch.
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