20 Apr 2021 - 09:24
JALALABAD (Pajwhok): Pajhwok Afghan News findings show the Ministry of Mines and Petroleum (MoMP) has temporarily allowed transfer of slate stones in Nangarhar province after around a year-long suspension of the process.
Owners of companies and factories involved in slate stones extraction and process have rejected the MoMP decision and said that the move could harm investors and traders and thousands of people working in the industry would lose their jobs.
In March 2020, National Procurement Commission in a meeting cancelled slate stones contracts with companies and stopped processing and transporting of the stones.
Mohammad Aziz Gharwal, spokesman of MoMP, told Pajhwok Afghan News that 23 areas containing slate stones were awarded to the private sector between 2012 and 2017.